Read the excerpt from Fernley House by Laura E. Richards. Then, answer the question that follows.

He loved dearly his own family, active, strenuous people, overflowing with strength and energy; but he often felt himself out of place among them, and reproached himself with the frequent languor and headache that so often kept him from sharing in their full-throated, whole-hearted happiness. He had graduated from a Western university, and was now going to study for a post-graduate degree at Harvard; he was tired, and the quiet at Fernley, the sense of perfect congeniality with his uncle, and Margaret's serene face and musical, even-toned voice, were like balm to his over-strung nerves.

Using context clues from the passage, what is the meaning of the simile in the bolded sentence?

He is happy when he is not at Fernley and not around Margaret.
He likes to listen to music because it reminds him of his time at Harvard.
Margaret and the house provide him with a sense of calm and peace.
He enjoys surrounding himself with high-energy people like his family.