gazed on him right willingly: for if he had seemed fair at
his first coming, it was nothing to the beauty that he now
had. And the King thought he had mightily grown in stature
and thews.[48] So the Queen prayed that God might make him a
man of worth, "for right plenty of beauty has He given him,"
and she looked at the Childe very sweetly: and so did he at
her as often as he could covertly direct his eyes towards
her. Also marvelled he much how such great beauty as he saw
appear in her could come: for neither that of his lady, the
Lady of the Lake, nor of any woman that he had ever seen,
did he prize aught as compared with hers. And no wrong had
he if he valued no other lady against the Queen: for she was
the Lady of Ladies and the Fountain of Beauty. But if he had
known the great worthiness that was in her he would have
been still more fain to gaze on her. For none, neither poor
nor rich, was her equal.

So she asked Monseigneur Ywain what was the Childe's name,
and he answered that he knew not. "And know you," said she,
"whose son he is and of what birth?" "Lady," said he, "nay,
except I know so much as that he is of the land of Gaul. For
his speech bewrayeth him."[49] Then the Queen took him by
the hand and asked him of whom he came. And when he felt it
[the touch] he shuddered as though roused from sleep, and
thought of her so hard that he knew not what she said to
him. And she perceived that he was much abashed, and so
asked him a second time, "Tell me whence you come." So he
looked at her very sheepishly and said, with a sigh, that he
knew not. And she asked him what was his name; and he
answered that he knew not that. So now the Queen saw well
that he was abashed and _overthought_.[50] But she dared not
think that it was for her: and nevertheless she had some
suspicion of it, and so dropped the talk. But that she might
not make the disorder of his mind worse, she rose from her
seat and, in order that no one might think any evil or
perceive what she suspected, said that the Childe seemed to
her not very wise, and whether wise or not had been ill
brought up. "Lady," said Messire Ywain, "between you and me,
we know nothing about him: and perchance he is forbidden[51]
to tell his name or who he is." And she said, "It may wel