7.  “Good !” cried several of the boys warmly, for they were in the mood to understand and value the little story as never before.

“He wasn’t rich, was he?” asked Jack.

“No.”

“He never did anything to make a stir in the world, did he?”

“No.”

“He was only good?”

“That’s all;” and Franz found himself wishing that Uncle John had done something to boast of, for it was evident that Jack was disappointed by his replies.

8.  “Only good.  That is all and everything,” said Uncle Fritz, who had overheard the last few words, and guessed what was going on in the minds of the lads.

“Let me tell you a little about John Brooke, and you will see why men honor him, and why he was satisfied to be good rather than rich or famous.  He simply did his duty in all things, and did it so cheerfully, so faithfully, that it kept him patient, brave, and happy, through poverty and loneliness and years of hard work.

9.  “He was a good son, and gave up his own plans to stay and live with his mother while she needed him.  He was a good friend, and taught your Uncle Laurie much beside his Greek and Latin, did it unconsciously, perhaps, by showing him an example of an upright man.

10.  “He was a faithful servant, and made himself so valuable to those who employed him that they will find it hard to fill his place.  He was a good husband and father, so tender, wise, and thoughtful, that Laurie and I learned much of him, and only knew how well he loved his family when we discovered all he had done for them, unsuspected and unassisted.”

11.  Uncle Fritz stopped a minute, and the boys sat like statues in the moonlight until he went on again, in a subdued and earnest voice:  “As he lay dying, I said to him, ’Have no care for your wife and the little ones; I will see that they never want.’  Then he smiled and pressed my hand, and answered, in his cheerful way, ‘No need of that; I have cared for them.’

12.  “And so he had, for when we looked among his papers, all was in order,—­not a debt remained; and safely put away was enough to keep his wife comfortable and independent.  Then we knew why he had lived so plainly, denied himself so many pleasures, except that of charity, and worked so hard that I fear he shortened his good life.

13.  “He never asked help for himself, though often for others, but bore his own burden and worked out his own task bravely and quietly.  No one can say a word of complaint against him, so just and generous and kind was he; and now, when he is gone, all find so much to love and praise and honor, that I am proud to have been his friend, and would rather leave my children the legacy he leaves his than the largest fortune ever made.

14.  “Yes! simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon.  It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.  Remember that, my boys; and, if you want to earn respect and confidence and love, follow in the footsteps of John Brooke.”