I am told certain games are very trying to the temper. Golf, for instance, has even led to the reprimand of a churchwarden by the committee of his golf club for using profane language.
I have seen very amiable people sit down to play bridge and after they have played for half an hour they exhibited the most vile tempers.
A pupil and coach after working hard all one morning decided to take a little relaxation in a game of croquet. The pupil lost his temper and hit the tutor with his mallet.
A prize fighter was in the habit of--in doubtful taste (to use a mild euphemism)--taunting his opponent during his fights in order to make him lose his temper and consequently his judgment.
These unpardonable tactics do not, however, always succeed. A man may feel angry without losing self-control. In fact "cold anger" braces up a man and his nerves become as iron and he becomes as implacable as Fate.
Some are extremely nervous and shy. They can shoot very well when by themselves, but if others are present they cannot do themselves justice, and they cannot shoot well in a compet.i.tion. They are too flabby.
Nervous men should always have people present when practising, and vary their audiences as often as possible, so that they will not get "stage fright."
The fault of others is extreme irritability. They shoot well till something annoying happens, a shot unexpectedly fired near them, a jamb of the pistol, the wind blowing the target down, or other trivial matters which do not trouble any one else.
This, however, starts them fuming and swearing (an oath is a sure sign of want of self-control). Everything that happens, the most trivial thing, adds to their _enervement_, as the French call it.
Their nerves get all in a jangle and they cannot shoot. Tobacco is often found to be the cause of the above state of mind. It takes a mere nothing to get a heavy smoker unbalanced.
The worst form of nerves, and almost impossible to overcome, is that when a man fancies people are "slighting" or "insulting" him.
He begins by shooting well and is in a good temper. Someone unfortunately makes a perfectly innocent remark or does something which seems quite innocuous to others.
But the man at once changes his manner, thinks he has been "purposely insulted" or "hampered," but he says nothing. The man who flies out at others is easier to manage, as you know what he complains of. But this man nurses his wrong and broods over it without letting any one know his grievance. He sulks, frowns, does not answer when spoken to, and his shooting goes to pieces, and he ruins the pleasure of the others. After all we are shooting for mutual pleasure and sport.
There is the flabby man who can win when he has it all his own way, but cannot make an effort when tackled. He is what is called a "rogue," not in the offensive sense but in racing language.
The man who surprises others is the quiet easy-going good-natured man who never wishes to hurt or annoy any one, but only wishes to be left in peace.
This is the Eastern or Russian temperament: "Nichevo" (never mind); "Sechas" (presently).
Some men get into the bad habit of saying what they imagine are "smart"
things, but which are really impertinent and hurt others" feelings.
This becomes such a habit with them that they do not notice that they are getting themselves hated as much as if they went about flicking people over the shins with a whip.
Some writers of plays which are supposed to be full of wit make their characters do nothing but say unkind things to each other. This is not wit but stupid, callous cowardice, which could not occur in countries where duelling is allowed.
To resume, the good-natured man who is not understood, whose good nature is mistaken for softness, sometimes surprises people.
His opponent, either because he is one of the sort who say "smart" things, or because he is losing his temper, says something which _at last_ wakes up the good-natured man. The latter says nothing, does not change his expression of good nature. He merely begins to shoot like a machine, his arm rises like a steel rod, each shot goes into the middle of the bull"s-eye, there is no hesitation, dwelling on the aim, or doubtful bull"s-eye.
He has, in becoming angry, pulled himself together, his whole mind is concentrated on one sole object, making the best score and beating his insulter, and he shoots the best score of his life. To compete against him is like competing against Fate.
After such an incident, I saw a beaten compet.i.tor go up to the winner, and congratulate him.
He added, "I thought I had you beaten that time." The other answered, "So you had, if you had not insulted me."
If you make a man "see red" whilst still keeping his temper, that is the most dangerous man in the world to tackle. Sir Henry Irving portrayed this when acting in the _Corsican Brothers_. I have never seen another actor succeed in doing so.
In order not to hamper your adversary in a compet.i.tion, it is of the utmost importance to study every one of your words and acts. What does not worry one man may entirely put another off his shooting. Moving about whilst he is shooting, leaving the firing point as he is firing, is enough to put him off his shot, and should be strictly avoided.
It is best to keep well away from him and only go up for your shot and not address a word to him or speak to any one within his hearing, until he beats you, then be the first to congratulate him.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL AND NICOTINE ON SHOOTING
In order to obtain the best results in shooting, a perfect co-ordination between the brain, nerves, and muscles is necessary.
A man who drinks heavily may for a time be able to shoot well, but this does not last. He can never be depended on not to "crack up" and he collapses at critical moments.
Very robust health is not necessary as long as the above conditions are fulfilled, and pistol shooting in the open air may be of benefit to a man who is in too delicate health to be able to play even a gentle game.
The old, evil days when a sportsman was not considered acting as a man unless he drank several bottles of port each evening and had to be carried home in a wheelbarrow are now, happily, gone for ever. Putting drink before all else used to be a constant annoyance. A drunkard was not content till he had reduced every man near him to the same disgusting mental and physical condition.
If others would not drink with him, he had the utmost contempt for them.
Called them "milksops," "drinkers of slops," "unsociable," and "too proud."
I always refused to go out shooting with such people. Besides being very dangerous, they never would do anything but drink. Sport was a mere excuse for going out "on the drink." Every occasion was made the excuse for a drink. With such people drink was the great event of the day, and if a stag was shot, there was a ceremony to be gone through of everyone drinking whiskey neat to "more blood."
At lunch, after an interminable time spent in drinking--they eat little--the forester who had been fidgeting to get off, would come up at last and timidly say, "I"m thinking the sooner we go the best, I am seeing a verra heavy beast in yon corrie, with the gla.s.s."
The "sportsman" would answer, "Is there? open the other bottle of champagne and help yourself, it won"t hurt you, there is not a headache in a dozen bottles."
Drink used to pose as the twin brother and boon companion of sport.
In these days drink is known as the sportsman"s deadliest enemy.
I consider even minute medicinal doses of alcohol are deleterious to shooting, entirely apart from drunkenness. Admiral Jellicoe, speaking at Gibraltar in 1911, quoted with approval a statement of Captain Ogilvy, the noted gunnery instructor, to the effect that carefully compiled statistics revealed the fact that the shooting efficiency of the men was thirty per cent. better before than after the issue of the grog ration ...
one eighth of a pint of rum liberally diluted with water.
In Bavaria the Minister of War carried out tests as to the effect of alcohol on marksmanship during twenty days on twenty marksmen (shortly before the war), 80,000 shots were fired, and the trial showed according to the report of Professor D. R. Kraeplin, that the consumption of forty grammes of alcohol, corresponding to the amount contained in one and three quarters pints of beer, made an average reduction in marksmanship of three per cent. The effect was most perceptible twenty-five to thirty minutes after absorbing the alcohol.
Most of the marksmen shot even worse, some of them from eight to twelve per cent. worse.
The Professor continues: "An amusing feature of the tests was that _some of the riflemen insisted not only that they could, but actually were shooting better after drinking the spirits, whilst in reality their marksmanship had fallen off as much as ten per cent_."
The late Sir Victor Horsley permitted me to quote the following from one of his lectures.
The cerebral activity of taking alcohol lasts only a few minutes, then marked slowing sets in, and for the rest of the time during which alcohol acts, varying from two to four hours according to the individual, the cerebral activity is diminished. It took longer for a person who had imbibed small quant.i.ties of alcohol to think, the evidence was overwhelming that alcohol in small quant.i.ties had a most deleterious effect on voluntary muscular work.
These facts bear out in every particular my own observations in watching others.