Answer: if it had not been for the life boat
For the first question we say that is an absolute phrase because it combinesa noun and a participle with any acompanying modifier or object. For the second question we can see that the mood of this oart of the passage os dreary as it describes fog and many creepy and sad situations related to it. And for the 3rd question we can say it is a slow pace, even there are many sentences, he takes the time to describe or give more information to the reader for many of the sentences of this paragraph, something that surely cannot be told in a fast pace
Slow: Is alike with foe, because they both rhyme, and is different, because it means to be moving at a low speed. Foe: Alike in the sense that it rhymes, and different because it means your enemy or opponent. These two words can also be alike, because they both mean "annoying things".
