The leading trait in his character was intense selfishness.

I think he was fully aware of this fact himself, and often tried to conceal it.

Capt.
Auld was not a _born_ slaveholder--not a birthright member of the slaveholding oligarchy.

He was only a slaveholder by _marriage-right;_ and, of all slaveholders, these latter are, _by far_, the most exacting.
There was in him all the love of domination, the pride of mastery, and the swagger of authority, but his rule lacked the vital element of consistency.

He could be cruel; but his methods of showing it were cowardly, and evinced his meanness rather than his spirit.