Sentence:  Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks <WSD>safely</WSD> on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cassock stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In a secure manner; without the possibility of injury or harm resulting.