“…she thought me a romantic fool”- Who might be thought a romantic fool? When and … why did the speaker doubt so?

The narrator of the short story ‘The Eyes Have It felt that he might be thought a romantic fool.

During the narrator’s conversation with the girl regarding the beauty of the hills in October, the girl expressed her desire to visit the hills. The narrator became nostalgic and gave a vivid and romantic description of the spectacular beauty of the hills during the month of October. After listening to the narrator’s description of the beauty of the hills, the girl became silent. This made the narrator wonder whether his words had touched her or if she thought him a romantic fool.

“Then I made a mistake”-What ‘mistake’ did the speaker make? Why was it a ‘mistake’? What removed the speaker’s doubts? What did the speaker do then?

The speaker made a mistake of asking the girl, his fellow-traveller, what it was like outside the train.

The speaker considered it to be a mistake as it was unusual of people with proper eyesight to ask such a question. The speaker was afraid that the girl might discover the truth that he was blind. 

When the girl asked the speaker why he did not look out of the window himself, it was then that the speaker’s doubts were removed.

To establish his lie more firmly as the truth, the speaker moved easily along the berth and felt for the window ledge. He faced the open window pretending to study the landscape like any other person with proper eyesight and tried to convince the girl that he could see.