One amusing feature of the affair was the half-serious and half-jocular manner of Aaron. He did not turn his face to look at his rival as he struck, and the instant the blow was delivered he withdrew his hand as if to avoid being detected. He gave no sign of anger, but made no effort to conceal his jealousy, and the other seemed to be aware of the cause of his disquietude. The smirk of indifference on the little lover's face belied the state of mind that impelled his action, and it was patent to all who witnessed the tilt that Aaron was jealous of his guest.
From time to time Elisheba would change her seat, when the same scene would ensue.
The whole affair was comical and yet so real, that one could not repress the laughter it evoked. It was the drama of "love's young dream" in real life, in which every man, at some period of his young career, has played each part the same as these two rivals. Every detail of plot and line was the duplicate of a like incident in the experience of boyhood.
AARON AND ELISHEBA
Elisheba did not appear to encourage the suit of this simian beau, but she did not rebuff him as a true and faithful spouse should do, and I never blamed Aaron for not liking it. She had no right to tolerate the attentions of a total stranger; but she was feminine, and perhaps endowed with all the vanity of her sex and fond of adulation.
However, my sympathies for the devoted little Aaron were too strong for me to permit him to be imposed upon by a rival, who was twice as big and three times as strong as he was, so I took him and Elisheba away on the after deck, where they had a good time alone.
Elisheba was never very much devoted to me, but in the early part of her career she began to realise the fact that I was her master and her friend. She had no gratitude in her nature, but she had sense enough to see that all her food and comfort were due to me, and as a matter of policy she became submissive, but never tractable. She was doubtless a plebeian among her own race, and was not capable of being brought up to a high standard of culture. She could not be controlled by kindness alone, for she was by nature sordid and perverse. I was never cruel or severe in dealing with her, but it was necessary to be strict and firm. Her poor health, however, often caused me to indulge her in whims that otherwise would have brought her under a more rigid discipline; and the patient conduct of Aaron appeared to be tempered by the same consideration.