Four Englishwomen have, during the last thirty years, established for themselves a well-grounded fame as travellers—Mrs. Bishop, Miss North, Miss Kingsley, and Miss Gordon Cumming. Lady Baker and Lady Burton were as brave and as resourceful as any of the four; but it must be remembered that each of them was protected by the presence of her husband against the most powerful of terrorising influences, namely, the solitude which magnifies peril and weakens resistance.

Each of these four ladies has her own special characteristic, literary and artistic; each in her own way has shown what English ladies can do, and with pen and pencil has aroused the interest and admiration of the reading public. Two generations of readers have been strongly attracted by Mrs. Bishop's books of travel, and her capacity for accurate observation, her retentive memory, and her power of vivid portrayal, have enabled multitudes to share her experiences and adventures in those lands beyond the pale which drew her ever with magnetic force.

To this widespread circle, which learnt to admire her resourceful self-reliance, is due some account of the circumstances which moulded her character, and of the work which she accomplished for her fellows.

As a traveller Mrs. Bishop's outstanding merit is, that she nearly always conquered her territories alone; that she faced the wilderness almost single handed; that she observed and recorded without companionship. She suffered no toil to impede her, no study to repel her.