Throughout almost all of his Episcopate Bishop Cheshire had no secretary. By choice he attended to his correspondence himself, writing all of his letters in longhand. Towards the end of his life he employed a secretary for a short time, but soon found that he preferred to do the work himself. He kept letter-books in which he entered a record of every letter he wrote, giving the name of the person written to, the date, and the place he was writing from. According to his own records, he wrote during his Episcopate 66,778 letters. The Bishop never liked any help in doing something which he felt he was able to do for himself. As a father Bishop Cheshire won the admiration of everyone who knew him. Each of his three daughters and three sons gave him their wholehearted love, obedience, and respect throughout his lifetime. He gained and held their devotion by his kindness, intelligence, and sympathetic understanding. He was a strict disciplinarian, but always preserved a tolerant and open-minded attitude towards the desires and weaknesses of youth. He treated his sons as men and expected them to act the part. The Bishop gave his children all the advantages he could afford. Two of his sons were educated at the University of North Carolina, and the third attended the University of the South. His three daughters all went to St. Mary's School. When one of his sons was leaving home to enter college, the Bishop told him that he would not ask him to promise to refrain from forming bad habits at school, such as drinking and gambling, nor would he accept such a promise if his son offered it. He went on to say that he had tried to teach him right from wrong and that his son well knew what things he could do that would make his father happy and proud and those which would make him unhappy and ashamed. He wanted his son to conduct himself as a gentleman, not because of any promises made, but for the sake of decency. The Bishop asked him to remember that he would always stand up for him as long as he was in the right, but he would not defend him for a moment if he were ever guilty of misconduct. This straightforward, manly counsel made a lasting impression upon the son. It was typical of the Bishop's uncompromising and practical way of thinking on moral questions. CHAPTER VII _Historian_