=A Lady of Rome.= By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 2 vols.--3937/38. This is the story of a Roman family tragedy, and a psychological study of the lengths to which unselfish love and expiatory renunciation may go in poor human nature. =Whom God hath joined.= By ARNOLD BENNETT. 1 vol.--3939. A drama of real life dealing with the still unsolved marriage problem and the working of the English divorce laws. =The Lady Evelyn.= By MAX PEMBERTON. 1 vol.--3940. A stirring romance of England and Roumania, in which the gypsies of the latter country play an important part. The heroine herself has gypsy blood, and her dual temperament leads to exciting complications. =A Barrister's Courtship.= By F. C. PHILIPS. 1 vol.--3941. A collection of short sketches by a well-known humourist, and a longer comedy written in collaboration with Percy Fendall. =The Future in America.= By H. G. WELLS. 1 vol.--3942. Mr. Wells, who has already written so many works on the future of the world's civilisation, paid a visit to America on purpose to judge on the spot of the future of that country. COLLECTION OF BRITISH AUTHORS TAUCHNITZ EDITION. VOL. 3971. THE HOUSE OF DEFENCE. BY E. F. BENSON. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. THE HOUSE OF DEFENCE BY E. F. BENSON AUTHOR OF "DODO," "THE CHALLONERS," "THE IMAGE IN THE SAND," "THE ANGEL OF PAIN," "PAUL," ETC. _COPYRIGHT EDITION_ IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II LEIPZIG BERNHARD TAUCHNITZ 1907. THE HOUSE OF DEFENCE. CHAPTER I.