"Such a favour!" she murmured. "I told my husband it was too much to ask. But no, he would have it. He made me come and speak to you. I've left him over there by the fountain." She creaked and sat down on the bench, and Lord John, who had risen as she addressed him, sat down too, wondering how most quickly to get away. "The Union," said the lady; and at that word Lord John bent towards her more attentively. "Lakeside branches. We're starting them, my husband and I, in all the lake villages. So important; so necessary. These villages are terribly behind the times. They simply _live_ in the past. And what a past! Picturesque if you will--but not progressive--oh, no! So some of us have decided that there _must_ be a branch of the Union in every lake village. We have brought a little band of organisers over to Geneva to-day, to attend the Assembly. But the Assembly is occupied this morning in electing committees. Necessary, of course; but no mention of the broader principles on which the League rests can be made until the voting is over. So we are having a little business meeting in an office off the Rue Croix d'Or. And when my husband and I caught sight of you he said to me, 'If only we could get Lord John to come right away now and address a few words to our little gathering--oh, but really quite a few--its dead bones would live!' Now, do I ask too much, Lord John?" "My dear lady," said Lord John, "I'm really sorry, but I simply haven't the time, I wish you all the luck in the world, but----" The purple lady profoundly sighed. "I _told_ my husband so. It was too much to ask. He's a colonel, you know--an Anglo-Indian--and always goes straight for what he wants, never hesitating. He _would_ make me ask you; ... but at least we have your good wishes, Lord John, haven't we?" "Indeed, yes." "The motto of our little village branches," she added as she rose, "is _Si vis pacem, para bellum_. Or, in some villages, _Si vis bellum, para pacem_. Both so true, aren't they? Now which do you think is the best?" Lord John Lester looked down at her in silence, momentarily at a loss for an answer. "Really, my dear lady, ... I'm afraid I don't like either at all. In fact, neither in any way expresses the ideals or principles of the League." She looked disappointed. "Now, you _don't_ say so! But those are the lines we're founding our branches on. One has to be so careful, don't you think, or a branch may get on the wrong lines, with all these peace cranks about. And every branch has its influence. They're ignorant in these lake villages, but they do mean well, and they're only anxious to learn. If only you would come and tell our little organising band how we _ought_ to start them!"