 How would you describe the tone throughout the passage?
Mrs. Lane smiled gently and placed her soft white hand on her daughter’s lean brown one. We both want to do what’s best for you, not to stand in your way. The only question is whether the time is right, or if you should wait longer.” The theater is full of beginners a year and even two years younger than I am, and girls of my age have lots of acting credits already. “None of them is as fascinating as acting to me,” Peggy replied, “and none of them is nearly as important to my life.” “I would have answered just the same way when I was your age, except that for me it was singing instead of acting. She paused and looked thoughtfully at her daughter’s intense expression, then took a deep breath before going on. “What you must realize, Margaret, is that you may not quite make the grade. We think you’re wonderful, but the theater is full of young girls whose parents thought they were the most talented things alive; girls who won all kinds of applause in high-school and college plays; girls who have everything except luck. You may be one of these girls, and if you are, we want you to be prepared for it. All I ask is that you finish college and get a teacher’s certificate so that you can always find useful work if you have to. What I want to prove in this year is that I can act. 5 “It seems to me, Tom, that Margaret has a pretty good idea of what she’s doing,” Mrs. Lane said. If she were all starry-eyed and expected to see her name in lights in a few weeks, I’d vote against her going, but I’m beginning to think that maybe she’s right about this being the best time.” His pipe satisfactorily sending up thick clouds of fragrant smoke, he took it out of his mouth before continuing more evenly. “Peg, your mother and I are cautious only because we love you so much and want what’s going to make you happy. At the same time, we want to spare you any unnecessary unhappiness along the way. Before I came out here to Rockport to edit the Eagle , I worked as a reporter on one of the best papers in New York. Its musty but clean scent of straw and horses and leather made her feel calm and alive.
 While there was some uncertainty and excitement, it was relatively tranquil throughout.
 It went from highly excited to mildly calm.  Calm at the beginning, tense through the rest.  While there was some uncertainty and excitement, it was relatively tranquil throughout.  Uncertainty filled the passage, though it became calm at the end.