On one of Cissy’s wakeful nights, she told Valancy her poor little story. They were sitting by the open window. Cissy could not get her breath lying down that night. An inglorious gibbous moon was hanging over the wooded hills and in its spectral¹ light Cissy looked frail² and lovely and incredibly young. A child. It did not seem possible that she could have lived through all the passion and pain and shame of her story.

 

“He was stopping at the hotel across the lake. He used to come over in his canoe at night—we met in the pines down the shore. He was a young college student—his father was a rich man in Toronto. Oh, Valancy, I didn’t mean to be bad—I didn’t, indeed. But I loved him so—I love him yet—I’ll always love him. And I—didn’t know—some things. I didn’t—understand. Then his father came and took him away. And—after a little—I found out—oh, Valancy,—I was so frightened. I didn’t know what to do. I wrote him—and he came. He—he said he would marry me, Valancy.”

 

“And why—and why?——”

 

“Oh, Valancy, he didn’t love me any more. I saw that at a glance. He—he was just offering to marry me because he thought he ought to—because he was sorry for me. He wasn’t bad—but he was so young—and what was I that he should keep on loving me?”

 

“Never mind making excuses for him,” said Valancy a bit shortly. “So you wouldn’t marry him?”

 

“I couldn’t—not when he didn’t love me any more. Somehow—I can’t explain—it seemed a worse thing to do than—the other. He—he argued a little—but he went away. Do you think I did right, Valancy?”

 

“Yes, I do. You did right. But he——”

 

“Don’t blame him, dear. Please don’t. Let’s not talk about him at all. There’s no need. I wanted to tell you how it was—I didn’t want you to think me bad——”

 

“I never did think so.”

 

“Yes, I felt that—whenever you came. Oh, Valancy, what you’ve been to me! I can never tell you—but God will bless you for it. I know He will—‘with what measure ye mete

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1 spectral
adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的
参考例句：
At times he seems rather ordinary.At other times ethereal,perhaps even spectral.有时他好像很正常，有时又难以捉摸，甚至像个幽灵。 She is compelling,spectral fascinating,an unforgettably unique performer.她极具吸引力，清幽如鬼魅，令人着迷，令人难忘，是个独具特色的演员。

2 frail
adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的
参考例句：
Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。 She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

3 mete
v.分配；给予
参考例句：
Schools should not mete out physical punishment to children.学校不应该体罚学生。 Duly mete out rewards and punishments.有赏有罚。

4 sobbed
哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说
参考例句：
She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。 She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

5 wincing
赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 )
参考例句：
She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯，突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。 "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做，"他说，松了一口气，缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 anguish
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼
参考例句：
She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。 The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

7 quotation
n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情
参考例句：
He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。 The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

8 spasm
n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作
参考例句：
When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。 He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

9 exhausted
adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的
参考例句：
It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。 Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

10 justifying
证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）
参考例句：
He admitted it without justifying it. 他不加辩解地承认这个想法。 The fellow-travellers'service usually consisted of justifying all the tergiversations of Soviet intenal and foreign policy. 同路人的服务通常包括对苏联国内外政策中一切互相矛盾之处进行辩护。

11 slumped
大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句：
Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。 The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。