The Choices of Master Samwise

[sun-star]

I've been reading The Two Towers again, and this struck me:

The voices began to move away. Sam heard the sound of feet receding. He was recovering from his shock, and now a wild fury was on him. "I got it all wrong!" he cried. "I knew I would. Now they've got him, the devils! the filth! Never leave your master, never, never: that was my right rule. And I knew it in my heart. May I be forgiven!"

Isn't he being a bit hard on himself? OK, so this is a tense moment (he's just found out that

Frodo isn't dead

) and 'never leave your master' is obviously one of his mottoes - but what else could he have done?

I could understand Sam being angry with himself at first. But Tolkien also says that this (leaving Frodo and taking the Ring) was 'altogether against the grain of his nature'. Does that mean he was wrong to do it? What does Sam (and possibly Tolkien?) think he should have done?

Any thoughts? Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find anything about it.