a part of the nation sided with David; but unable to assist him openly, they gave him secret help, by which he was enabled to escape from repeated persecutions. It is to be deplored that David, in his wanderings and privations, was obliged to form friendly relations with the enemies of his country--with the king of Moab, with the Ammonite king, Nahash, and with the king of the Philistines, Achish. He thus incurred the suspicion of having become a traitor to his country, and apparently justified Saul's enmity towards him. The terms of David's alliance with Achish, by whom he had been at first refused protection, but with whom he had, on the second occasion, found refuge, seemed especially apt to implicate him. Achish granted him protection on the condition that he would break entirely with Saul and his country, so that, in case of war, he and his troops, amounting to six hundred men, might join the Philistines against his own tribe, and, in times of peace, make incursions on the remote portions of Judah, and deliver up a part of the booty to his liege lord. David, it is true, appears to have determined to evade these conditions, and eventually even to join his own people against his allies. But thus he was compelled to enter upon crooked ways, and to give up the honesty of purpose which had hitherto distinguished him. It is probable that the wild appearance of David's troops did not make a very pleasant impression on the inhabitants of Philistia. The Philistine chiefs were displeased that their sovereign should ally himself with a leader who owed his glory to victories over their own people. King Achish, however, expected so much from this alliance that he paid no heed to the warning of his counsellors. But David himself felt the discomfort of living amongst the Philistine population. He therefore begged Achish to assign to him and his followers a dwelling-place in one of his citadels. This proposition being agreeable to the Philistine king, he gave David the town of Ziklag. No sooner had the news spread that a special city had been appointed for David's occupation, than warlike men, both strangers and natives, joined him, many of whom distinguished themselves by their heroism later on. Achish believed that, in David, he had secured a faithful ally, who was employing his military knowledge and courage against members of his own tribe, and who, consequently, could never again make peace with his own people.