The Man in Possession — page 146: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. 141 For an ordinarily cool, self-possessed young man who never lost his head or allowed himself to’ be ‘‘put out” by trifles, Tom certainly had placed him- self in an extremely awkward position. He could only account for it by the fact, that in the whole matter, of which Kate was as yet happily ignorant, he had suffered his feelings to overrule his judgment. In all matters connected with women he had hitherto been an indifferent spectator, but he had stepped from that point of vantage once, and the step had never been retraceable. In place of his usual cool criticism of that curious workmanship of nature—a girl—he had drifted, how he knew not, into interest, sympathy, admiration, wonder, about one. He had been guilty of acts of folly for which he blushed now. He had desired to keep the char- acter of knight and champion in the background, but by a singular piece of folly he had let in the light of discovery on the whole scheme. He knew he was over head and ears in love with this girl, though he had never betrayed or confessed it; but now he had placed himself in such an utterly false position that any intimation of that fact would only make matters worse. What could he say? How could he justify himself? It was impossible. So he only sat there, white and shame-faced and miserable, while Kate poured forth vials of wrath upon his head, and lashed herself into fiercer indigna- tion by reason of his silence and acceptance of that indignation. Every accusation stung him to the core; every COMicloe (Sri C(O)