"He had one uniform practice, and a very bad one it was, during the time of family worship, and just three or four seconds before the conclusion of the prayer, he started to his feet, and ran barking round the apartment like a crazed beast"

A striking image unfolds as a disruptive figure interrupts the serene ritual of family worship. The passage introduces a person whose consistent, though unfortunate, habit emerges at the climax of communal prayer, just moments before its expected end. Where spiritual focus ought to peak, this individual stands abruptly, unleashing chaos by darting about the room, barking and moving wildly. The suddenness and timing of the action are not coincidental; the disruption intentionally coincides with the culmination of collective reverence, almost as if to overturn the sanctity of the moment.

By comparing the person's behavior to that of a "crazed beast", the author employs vivid animalistic imagery, suggesting a profound loss of reason and control. This is not mere childish mischief but something bordering on madness or wildness. The phrase “ran barking” evokes a dog, an animal often associated with disorder within a formal domestic setting. Such behavior during prayer, an occasion typically characterized by solemnity, unity, and discipline, serves to accentuate the impropriety and the scandalous nature of the act.

The narrative voice signals strong disapproval, labeling the practice as “very bad,” highlighting the consequence such disturbances may have on the family’s spiritual life. Regularly undermining rituals designed for reflection and cohesion, the disturber shatters both atmosphere and attention. This habit, cast as almost compulsive (“one uniform practice”), implies deeper issues: perhaps an urge for attention, rebellion against authority, or a personal alienation from the shared experience of faith.

The moment illustrates not just a breach of etiquette but a challenge to the communal bonds that such rituals are meant to reinforce. The sacred is juxtaposed with the profane, routine devotion undone by unpredictable chaos, reinforcing themes of order versus disorder, sanity versus madness, and the persistent struggle to maintain dignity and unity in the sphere of domestic and spiritual life.