The sound appeared to communicate a shock to every part of my father's frame.

He rose immediately, and threw over himself a loose gown.

Even this office was performed with difficulty, for his joints trembled, and his teeth chattered with dismay.

At this hour his duty called him to the rock, and my mother naturally concluded that it was thither he intended to repair.
Yet these incidents were so uncommon, as to fill her with astonishment and foreboding.

She saw him leave the room, and heard his steps as they hastily descended the stairs.