THE HUNTSMAN 127 



the first to laugh at him later on. As I have 

 already said, most of those who go hunting are 

 good sportsmen at heart, and they will always re- 

 spect a man who plays the game in the right way. 

 A huntsman must be devoid of all conceit, but 

 at the same time must have full confidence in 

 himself. Self-confidence is the term, I think, 

 we apply to ourselves, and conceit is the word 

 our friends use in describing that particular 

 quality when referring to us. There is, how- 

 ever, a difference, though I admit it is not easy 

 to define. The man who is conceited puts an 

 extravagant value on his own abilities and be- 

 lieves himself in his own department superior 

 to every one else ; whereas the self- confident 

 man only says to himself, ' I consider myself 

 capable of carrying through this thing I have 

 undertaken, though others may do it as well, 

 if not better.' The conceited man depreciates 

 the abilities of others in order that he may 

 stand the higher in our estimation, whilst the 

 self-confident has merely a certain faith in his 

 own abilities and has nerve to put them to the 

 test. I mean these definitions to apply only to 

 the work of a huntsman and not to any other 



