The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1 | Page 7

mansion from which
Jefferson Davis had fled without standing upon the order of departure.
With the fall of Richmond, and the surrender of Appomattox, Mr.
Coffin's occupation as an army correspondent ended. During these long
years he found time to write three volumes for juveniles--"Days and
Nights on the Battle Field," "Following the Flag," and "Winning his
Way."
On July 25, 1866, Mr. Coffin sailed from New York for Europe,
accompanied by Mrs. Coffin, as correspondent of the Boston Journal.
War had broken out between Austria on the one side and Italy and
Germany on the other. It was of short duration; there was the battle of
Custozza in Italy and Konnigratz in Germany, followed by the
retirement of Austria from Italy, and the ascendency of Bismarck over
Baron Von Beust in the diplomacy of Europe. It was a favorable period
for a correspondent and Mr. Coffin's letters were regularly looked for
by the public. The agitation for the extension of the franchise was
beginning in England. Bearing personal letters from Senator Sumner,
Chief Justice Chase, General Grant, and other public men, the
correspondent had no difficulty in making the accquaintance of the men
prominent in the management of affairs on the other side of the water.
Through the courtesy of John Bright, who at once extended to Mr.
Coffin every hospitality, he occupied a chair in the speaker's gallery of
the House of Commons on the grand field night when Disraelli, then
Prime Minister, brought in the suffrage bill. While in Great Britain Mr.
Coffin made the acquaintance not only of men in public life, but many
of the scientists,--Huxley, Tyndal, Lyell, Sir William Thompson. At the

social Science Congress held in Belfast, Ireland, presided over by Lord
Dufferin, he gave an address upon American Common Schools which
was warmly commended by the London Times.
An introduction to the literary clubs of London gave him an
opportunity to make the acquaintance of the literary guild. He was
present at the dinner given to Charles Dickens before the departure of
that author to the United States, at which nearly every notable author
was a guest.
Hastening to Italy, he had the good fortune to see the Austrians take
their departure from Verona and Venice and the Italians assume
possession of those cities. Upon the entrance of Victor Emanuel to
Venice he enjoyed exceptional facilities for witnessing the festivities.
He was present at the coronation of the Emperor and Empress of
Austria, as King and Queen of Hungary. Through the courtesy of Mr.
Motley, then Minister to Austria, he received from the Prime Minister
of the empire every facility for witnessing the ceremonies.
At Pesth he made the acquaintance of Francis Deak, the celebrated
statesman--the John Bright of Hungary; also, of Arminius Vambrey,
the celebrated Oriental traveller.
At Berlin he had the good fortune to see the Emperor William, the
Crown Prince, Bismarck, Van Moltke, the former and the present Czar
of Russia, and Gortschakoff, the great diplomatist of Russia, in one
group. The letters written from Europe were upon the great events of
the hour, together with graphic descriptions of the life of the common
people.
After spending a year and a half in Europe, Mr. Coffin visited Greece,
Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, sailing thence down the Red sea to
Bombay, travelled across India to the valley of the Ganges, before the
completion of the railroad, visiting Allahabad, Benares, Calcutta,
sailing thence to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai. Ascending
the Yang-tse six hundred miles to Wuchang; the governor of the
province invited him to a dinner. From Shanghai he sailed to Japan,

experiencing a fearful typhoon upon the passage. Civil war in Japan
prevented his travelling in that country, and he sailed for San Francisco,
visiting points of interest in California, and in November made his way
across the country seven hundred miles--riding five consecutive days
and nights between the terminus of the Central Pacific road at
Wadsworth and Salt Lake, arriving in Boston, January, 1869, after an
absence of two and a half years. During that period the Boston Journal
contained every week a letter from his pen.
For one who had seen so much there was an opening in the lecture field
and for several years he was one of the popular lecturers before
lyceums. In 1869 he published Our New Way Round the World,
followed by the Seat of Empire, Caleb Crinkle (a story) Boys of 76,
_Story of Liberty, Old Times in the Colonies, Building the Nation, Life
of Garfield_, besides a history of his native town. His volumes have
been received with marked favor. No less than fifty copies of the _Boys
of '76_ are in the Boston Public Library and all in constant use.
Mr. Coffin has given many addresses before teacher's associations, and
a course