John Harrison Wilson, The life of Charles Henry Dana

A favorite entertainment with him was to have his children read aloud German fairy tales and folk songs, or short poems from the French in the original, and then, without previous preparation, translate them with his help into English. In this way they absorbed much that was charming at the time, and valuable thereafter, without effort, and without interfering with their regular study hours. No matter what might be the pressure upon him, he was always ready to help a child in its tasks. The evenness of his temper, his great capacity for work, and the extraordinary efficiency of his faculties, made it impossible to hurry or disturb him either at home or at his desk. These qualities gave to his character a balance and steadiness that shed a pleasant influence upon all who came within their reach.

It is the testimony of those who had an opportunity to know, that no office of any kind was ever more quiet, happy, harmonious, and well-governed than was the Sun office under Dana. Every man in it fell unconsciously under the sway of his chief's personality, and from the first regarded himself as the respected and trusted servant of a master whose eye for what was praiseworthy was never shut, and whose quick and generous impulse was to recognize and reward merit and ability wherever he found them. No newspaper at that time paid better salaries than the Sun, and no better school of journalism ever existed in this country. While the principal instruction was given by the blue pencil, it was so thorough and so effective that those who were fortunate enough to receive it soon came to be known to the press at large as “the clever young men of the Sun,” and many of them now hold high and lucrative positions in journalism.

His originality and success have been widely recognized throughout the United States, and it is but just to add that he has been imitated as much in the make — up of