China > Letter from Isabella Bird Bishop to John Murray III, 11 April 1896

Chengtu. Sze’chuan. China April 11. 96
[annotated in red ink: recd 25 ansd 26 VI 96]
Dear Mr Murray
On these journeys my plans have been frequent
ly defeated, and now the unexpected delays en route for this
make it impossible (owing to hot season having
come on) for me to return to England till the late autumn
consequently my Korean book cannot be a Xmas book, un
fortunately and I can only hope that a degree of interest
may continue. Illustrations by a cheap process seem a great
feature in books of travel now. I don’t think that I menti
oned that I have a number of my own photographs for
this purpose – negatives I mean.
I left Shanghai on Jan 10, and the journey up the Yangtze
to Wan Hsien and 900 miles overland since have taken
three months. I intended to return from this point, but
as I cannot go home till the cool weather I am planning
a journey 300 miles northwards and then to come down
to Tatienlu by a route taken by an austrian traveller
which takes one among many of the Tibetan and abori
ginal tribes. I propose to rejoin the Min at Kiating, pass-