Though he originally called his salary "liberal," Poe would later complain of his "nambypamby" payment of $800 per year when compared to Graham's alleged $25,000 in profit. A possibly story is that Poe returned to the office in April 1842 after a brief illness to find Charles Peterson, another editor, sitting at his desk and performing his duties. Upset, he impulsively resigned on the spot. By then, however, he had already made a significant impact on "Graham's". A year after Poe's departure, Philadelphia editor George Lippard said, "It was Mr. Poe that made Graham's Magazine what "it was" a year ago; it was his intellect that gave this now weak and flimsy periodical a tone of refinement and mental vigor".