Aid and Comfort to the Enemy 



keeper of the gate. His duty it is to repair my 

 fortress and to make it safe against assault. For 

 a moment I resolve in malice to turn the tide of 

 war against him, and by a swift flanking move- 

 ment to send the enemy scattering through his 

 cornfield, destruction in the wake of thudding 

 hoofs. Full tilt I charge. But as I come upon 

 the foe, the spoils still sweet upon their tongues, 

 I am brought up short by the shock of their 

 reproachful stare. Where there should be dis- 

 may and guilty rout, there is only confidence. 

 Once they have seen who it is that shouts at them 

 with lusty lungs, they fall again to cropping. 

 And in the very friendliness with which they take 

 my prods, I know myself for an arch-traitor. 

 Never would they have raised their heads so high 

 in aspiration, had it not been for our stolen meet- 

 ings; had I not discovered to them the riches of 

 our kingdom; and let them savor furtively of the 

 wealth behind its walls. 



My betrayal is not a matter of intention. I 



have the missionary spirit, not the Christian. I 



like to give, not share. Self-consciously I dole 



out bounty, and supposedly from the safe 



[219] 



