He was smiling openly when Stephen walked in, looking shrewish. Like many large, florid, good-natured men, Jack Aubrey was afflicted with an undue proportion of small pale, meagre friends of a shrewish turn.
In "The Ionian Mission" by Patrick O'Brian, the character Jack Aubrey is described as a large, cheerful man who often surrounds himself with smaller, more irritable friends. When Stephen enters the scene, he appears somewhat shrewish, highlighting the contrast between Aubrey's open and jovial demeanor and the more anxious nature of those around him.
This dynamic reflects a common theme where gregarious individuals attract friends with different personalities. Aubrey’s affable nature...
