What is the mood of the passage?
A. mysterious
B. tranquil
Cangry
D. critical
E. confident
excerpt adapted from
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexander Dumas
The dock was soon covered with the usual crowd of curious
onlookers, as the arrival of a ship is always a great event in
the town of Marseilles. This was especially true when, like the
Pharaon, it has been built in the city and belongs to a local
shipowner.
Meanwhile the vessel was approaching the harbor, but so
slowly and with such an air of melancholy that the onlookers,
sensing misfortune, began to wonder if an accident
happened on board. However, the experienced seamen
among them saw that if there had been an accident, it could
not have happened to the ship herself, for she had every
appearance of being under perfect control. Standing beside
the pilot who was preparing to steer the ship through the
narrow harbor, was a young man. With vigilant eyes and
rapid gestures, he watched every movement of the ship and
repeated each of the pilot's orders.
The vague anxiety hovering over the crowd affected one man
so much that he could not wait until the ship entered the
harbor. This man leaped into a small boat and ordered the
boatman to row him out to meet the Pharaon.