I presume he thinks it 'll set him right with them, if they're thinkin' demeaning of him because he came over second-cabin on their ship.
"The Landlord at Lion's Head, Complete"
William Dean Howells Last Updated: February 27, 2009
He had watched his regular companions well out of college, and gave them enough start to make sure that they would be off before he himself could arrive at St. Ambrose's dressing room at Hall's, and chuckled, as he came within sight of the river, to see the freshmen's boat in which he generally performed, go plunging away past the University barge, keeping three different times with four oars, and otherwise demeaning itself so as to become an object of mirthful admiration to all beholders.
"Tom Brown at Oxford"
Thomas Hughes
Every discontented captain, colonel, or general who chanced to be in command of a district, there held sway as a dictator; so demeaning himself that martial and military rule had become established as the living law of the land.
"The Lone Ranche"
Captain Mayne Reid