Rich and Humble, by Oliver Optic (paperback)

Along the banks of the Hudson River, a prosperous family is shaken when pride, envy, and sudden misfortune test the bonds between brother and sister. Bertha Grant quietly devotes herself to visiting the poor and sick, while her headstrong brother Richard drifts toward idle companions and easy pleasures. Their widowed father, pressed by business worries and social expectations, struggles to guide them wisely.

When a ragged errand boy called Noddy blunders into their lives, the contrast between "rich" and "humble" grows harder to ignore.

Rich and Humble offers a lively picture of middle-class youth in a New England river town. Schoolrooms, parlors, warehouses, and riverboats provide the backdrop as business risk, social gossip, and small acts of courage shape the Grants' future. Without turning into grim sermon or wild melodrama, the story traces how generosity, honesty, and steady work can redeem foolish choices-and how a young girl's sense of duty can quietly change more than one life, including her own.