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(Download PDF) Competition Law 9Th Edition by Richard Whish Full Chapter PDF
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Preface to the ninth edition
It was only three years ago that we wrote the preface to the eighth edition of this book. We
commented then on how much had changed since the previous edition and noted that
keeping up to date with developments in competition law and policy is ‘stimulating and
challenging in equal measure’. It remains so. Barely a day goes by without a development of
some kind. What we did not anticipate in 2015 was that we would be preparing the ninth
edition against the backdrop of Brexit. The referendum in the UK on 23 June 2016 will lead
to its departure from the EU on 29 March 2019. Obviously we had to consider how to deal
with this momentous turn of events in this edition of the book. Our conclusion was that
there was relatively little at this stage that we could do: the book will publish in Summer
2018, and the UK will remain a Member State of the EU until March 2019; it is possible
that there will follow a transitional period (though ‘nothing is agreed until everything is
agreed’) that could run until the end of 2020. This being so we have decided to continue on
the basis of the existing law, although at some points in the text we have put down markers
for the future: for example it seems unlikely that section 60 of the Competition Act 1998,
which requires the competition authorities in the UK to maintain consistency with the
jurisprudence of the EU Courts, will survive Brexit in its current form. The Brexit
Competition Law Working Group (www.bclwg.org), of which Richard was a member,
considered that the major challenges for UK competition law and policy raised by Brexit
were not in relation to substantive law: the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act
2002, which will remain after Brexit, are basically ‘fit for purpose’. The important issues to
be addressed concern transitional arrangements and international cooperation, with the
European Commission, the national competition authorities of the Member States, and with
other institutions beyond the EU. There may also be consequences for the private
enforcement of EU competition law in the UK courts; for example an infringement of
Articles 101 and 102 TFEU will no longer be a tortious breach of statutory duty. At the time
of writing, nothing has been decided on any of these issues, and we see little point in
speculating on them in this book, the purpose of which is to guide the reader through the
law of today rather than what it might look like tomorrow. For us, the authors of this book,
the challenge will be to decide what a tenth edition will look like, something which we
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
2. Gathering Information About Markets 463
3. Super-Complaints 463
4. Market Studies 465
5. Market Investigation References 469
6. Public Interest Cases 481
7. Enforcement 482
8. Supplementary Provisions 485
9. The Market Investigation Provisions in Practice 488
10. Orders and Undertakings Under the Fair Trading Act 1973 493
1. Introduction 494
2. Extraterritoriality: Theory 495
3. The Extraterritorial Application of US Antitrust Law 498
4. The Extraterritorial Application of EU Competition Law 502
5. The Extraterritorial Application of UK Competition Law 508
6. Resistance to Extraterritorial Application of Competition Law 512
7. The Internationalisation of Competition Law 514
1. Introduction 520
2. Widespread Consensus that Cartels Should be Prohibited 521
3. EU Policy Towards Cartels 524
4. Horizontal Price Fixing 530
5. Horizontal Market Sharing 541
6. Quotas and Other Restrictions on Production 544
7. Collusive Tendering 547
(p. x) 8. Agreements Relating to Terms and Conditions 549
9. Exchanges of Information 551
10. Advertising Restrictions 559
11. Anti-Competitive Horizontal Restraints 561
12. UK Law 564
1. Introduction 570
2. The Theory of Oligopolistic Interdependence 571
3. Article 101 578
4. Article 102 and Collective Dominance 583
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
5. UK Law 594
1. Introduction 597
2. Full-Function Joint Ventures 598
3. The Application of Article 101 to Horizontal Cooperation Agreements
and the Commission’s Guidelines on Horizontal Cooperation Agreements 598
4. Information Exchange 604
5. Research and Development Agreements 604
6. Production Agreements 611
7. Purchasing Agreements 615
8. Commercialisation Agreements 617
9. Standardisation Agreements 619
10. Other Cases of Permissible Horizontal Cooperation 624
11. The Application of the Chapter I Prohibition in the UK Competition
Act 1998 to Horizontal Cooperation Agreements 627
1. Introduction 629
2. The Distribution Chain 630
3. Vertical Integration 632
4. Commercial Agents 634
5. Vertical Agreements: Competition Policy Considerations 637
6. Vertical Agreements: Article 101(1) 642
7. Vertical Agreements: Regulation 330/2010 664
8. Vertical Agreements: Individual Application of Article 101(3) 687
9. Vertical Agreements: Enforcement 689
10. Regulation 461/2010 on Motor Vehicle Distribution 689
11. Sub-Contracting Agreements 691
12. UK Law 692
1. Introduction 697
2. Exclusive Dealing Agreements 698
3. Tying 705
4. Refusal to Supply 713
5. Non-Pricing Abuses that are Harmful to the Internal Market 727
6. Miscellaneous Other Non-Pricing Abuses 728
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McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
18 Abuse of dominance (2): pricing practices 732
1. Introduction 732
2. Cost Concepts 733
3. Excessive Pricing 735
4. Conditional Rebates 746
5. Bundling 754
6. Predatory Pricing 756
7. Margin Squeeze 771
8. Price Discrimination 777
9. Pricing Practices that are Harmful to the Single Market 783
1. Introduction 785
2. Licences of Intellectual Property Rights: Article 101 788
3. Technology Transfer Agreements: Regulation 316/2014 798
4. The Application of Article 101 to Other Agreements Relating to
Intellectual Property Rights 808
5. Article 102 and Intellectual Property Rights 814
6. UK Law 827
1. Introduction 829
2. Terminology 829
3. Merger Activity 831
4. The Proliferation of Systems of Merger Control 832
5. Why Do Firms Merge? 833
6. What is the Purpose of Merger Control? 836
7. Designing a System of Merger Control 846
1. Introduction 848
2. Overview of EU Merger Control 849
3. Jurisdiction 852
(p. xii) 4. Notification, Suspension of Concentrations, Procedural
Timetable and Powers of Decision 876
5. Substantive Analysis 882
6. Remedies 907
7. Powers of Investigation and Enforcement 913
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8. Judicial Review 915
9. International Cooperation 921
10. The EUMR in Practice 922
1. Introduction 932
2. Overview of UK Merger Control 933
3. The CMA’s Duty to Make References: Phase 1 Investigations 936
4. Determination of References by the CMA: Phase 2 Investigations 956
5. The ‘Substantial Lessening of Competition’ Test 959
6. Enforcement 969
7. Supplementary Provisions 978
8. The Merger Provisions in Practice 981
9. ‘Public Interest Cases’, ‘Other Special Cases’ and Mergers in the Water
Industry 986
1. Introduction 994
2. Nuclear Energy 994
3. Military Equipment 995
4. Agriculture 995
5. Coal and Steel 999
6. Transport 999
7. Regulated Industries 1008
8. Electronic Communications 1011
9. Post 1016
10. Energy 1020
11. Water 1023
Bibliography 1025
Index 1029
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
Table of treaties and conventions
Richard Whish BA BCL (Oxon), QC (Hon), David Bailey LLB (King’s
College London), LLM (Harv)
Art 54 58
Art 55 58
Art 56 58
Art 58 921
Art 106 58
Art 108 58
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union OJ [2010] C 83/389 256, 257,
526
Art 7 282
Art 47 729
Art 49 285
Art 51 257
EC Treaty
Art 3(1)(g) 52, 209, 222, 225
Art 66 775
EEC Treaty
Art 3(f) 209
Art IV 517
Art VI 517
Art IX 517
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
European Patent Convention
Art 52(1) 787
Art II 518
Art IV 518
Art V 518
Art VI 518
Art 4(3) 185, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 298, 320, 921
Art 17(1) 54
Art 3(1)(b) 52
Art 9 91
Art 11 164
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McGill University; date: 09 November 2020
Art 37(1) 251, 252
Art 43 1005
Art 45 230
Art 57 230
Art 101 34, 42, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 83,
92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 101, 104, 121, 123, 141, 149, 151, 152, 180, 197, 217,
224, 225, 227, 228, 234, 237, 255, 256, 257, 260, 262, 264, 268, 270, 275, 279,
283, 285, 288, 291, 293, 298, 299, 303, 306–42, 347, 370, 372, 389, 392, 395,
398, 399, 402, 413, 417, 420, 425, 430, 449, 453, 461, 469, 475, 476, 502–6,
521, 529, 562, 564, 570, 573, 576, 577, 578–81, 586, 587, 594, 595, 598–604,
637, 667, 670, 677, 689, 698, 699, 807, 808, 810, 811, 813, 814, 827, 854, 858,
866, 893, 903, 905, 995, 996, 999, 1002, 1003, 1006, 1007, 1010, 1015, 1020,
1021, 1024
Art 101(1) 13, 25, 51, 75, 78, 82–156, 157, 167, 227, 228, 229, 234, 246, 259,
267, 329, 347, 357, 361, 375, 414, 430, 502, 531–9, 548–9, 553, 554, 556, 557,
560–1, 564, 573, 578, 581, 582, 586, 592, 598, 599, 602–3, 604, 606–7, 608,
614, 616, 618, 620–2, 623, 624, 625, 627, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638, 639,
641, 642–64, 665, 666, 669, 670, 672, 674, 677, 678, 679, 686, 687, 690, 691,
692, 698, 701, 768, 789, 790, 791, 793, 794, 795, 796, 797, 799, 803, 807, 809,
810, 811, 813, 814, 821, 996, 997, 1018, 1022
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Art 101(1)(e) 362
Art 101(2) 28, 82, 267, 296, 336–7, 338, 340, 362, 684
Art 101(3) 51, 54, 78, 82, 110, 119, 120, 126, 127, 128, 137, 141, 142, 143, 156,
157–179, 217, 259, 267, 270, 336, 337, 357, 372, 373, 374, 375, 539, 540, 541,
544, 547, 549, 551, 554, 558, 561, 577, 583, 598, 599, 602, 603–4, 607, 610,
611, 613, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618–19, 620, 622, 623, 624, 627, 628, 636, 639,
642, 643, 645, 646, 650, 651, 654, 656, 658, 659, 662, 663, 666, 674, 678, 686,
687–8, 698, 701, 790, 791, 794, 796, 797, 803, 807, 809, 811, 994, 1018, 1021,
1024
Art 102 21, 25, 28, 30, 34, 38, 48, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 60, 63, 64, 68, 70, 72,
73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 95, 99, 121, 134, 141, 151, 152, 172, 180–221, 224,
225, 234, 235, 238, 239, 242, 255, 256, 257, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264, 268, 270,
275, 276, 279, 283, 285, 288, 293, 298, 299, 303, 306–42, 344, 378, 384, 387,
389, 392, 398, 399, 402, 413, 420, 430, 449, 453, 461, 469, 475, 476, 502–6,
541, 570, 573, 576, 583–94, 623–4, 625, 633, 637, 638, 643, 660, 666, 667, 669,
689, 697, 698, 699–703, 705, 708, 714, 715, 717, 718, 728, 729, 732, 735, 736,
737, 742, 743, 747, 748, 751, 753, 754, 756, 760, 761, 764, 767, 768, 773, 774,
779, 782, 813, 814, 815, 818, 820, 824, 826, 828, 837, 866, 985, 999, 1002,
1003, 1010, 1013, 1015, 1017, 1019, 1020, 1022
Art 102(2)(c) 241, 242, 764, 766, 768, 772, 779, 780, 781, 782
Art 103 54
Art 103(b) 28
Art 106(1) 51, 223, 224, 230, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241,
242, 246, 247, 248, 249, 251
Art 106(2) 84, 87, 141, 144, 185, 188, 230, 236, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 247,
248, 252, 253, 368, 1017, 1018
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Art 107(1) 253
Art 153 91
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Art 267 56, 223, 247, 310, 318, 319, 342, 392, 461, 557, 599, 737, 742, 768,
774, 782, 817, 821
Art 352 54
Protocol 23 58
Protocol 26 245
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
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Table of EU legislation
Richard Whish BA BCL (Oxon), QC (Hon), David Bailey LLB (King’s
College London), LLM (Harv)
Regulations
Regulation 17/62 JO [1962] 204/62 158, 161, 174, 175, 256, 261, 263, 264, 279, 282,
283, 298, 1002
Art 3(2) 302
Art 11 278
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Regulation 1983/83, OJ [1983] L 173/1 665
Regulation 44/2001
Art 2 320
Art 17 321
Art 28 322
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Regulation 1049/2001, OJ [2001] L 145/43 295, 314
Regulation 1/2003, OJ [2003] L 1/1 53, 59, 60, 63, 76–79, 120, 151, 158, 161, 163,
164, 165, 167, 174, 176, 179, 186, 255–305, 306, 392, 407, 475, 577, 599, 693, 866,
913, 1002, 1008
Recital 3 174
Recital 6 260
Recital 7 57
Recital 8 78
Recital 10 385
Recital 11 263
Recital 12 262
Recital 13 265
Recital 15 273
Recital 25 282
Recital 26 284
Recital 37 256
Art 3(2) 78, 79, 151, 186, 267, 376, 387, 475, 717
From: Oxford Competition Law (http://oxcat.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Subscriber:
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Art 3(3) 78, 79, 186
Art 9 114, 161, 175, 179, 185, 264–269, 285, 294, 300, 535, 540, 541, 589, 619,
622, 624, 636, 690, 702, 720, 742, 775, 1001, 1004, 1006
Art 13 276
Art 14 56
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Art 14(4) 276(p. xvi)
Art 19 281
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Art 20(6) 284
Art 26 294
Art 27 294
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Art 30(1) 297
Art 34 298
Art 43 298
Art 44 298
Regulation 139/2004, [2004] L 24/1 (European Union Merger Regulation (EUMR)) 28,
30, 36, 47, 52, 54, 76, 137, 194, 364, 502, 574, 583, 587, 591, 592, 598, 729, 830,
831, 842, 848, 850, 929, 933, 995, 1014, 1019, 1022
Recital 8–9 76
Recital 20 855
Recital 22 864
Recital 26 886
Recital 29 897
Recital 31 907
Recital 32 890
Art 2(3) 17, 584, 868, 882, 903, 904, 908, 922
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Art 2(5) 880, 902, 903, 904
Art 4 876
Art 4(4) 507, 866, 867, 868, 869, 872, 876, 933, 952
Art 6 907
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Art 7 876, 878, 914
Art 9 853, 866, 867, 868, 869, 873, 880, 919, 933, 995
Art 10 880
Art 13 913
Art 14 913
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Art 14(3) 914
Art 16 914
Art 19 921
Art 19(3)–(7) 57
Art 21(4) 79, 846, 853, 866, 872, 873, 874, 933, 986, 990
Art 24 921
Art 35 76
Annex IV 908
Ch IV 296
Art 1 853
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Art 2(2) 505
Art 3 281
Art 5 853
Art 9 853
Art 2 1002
Art 15 323
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Regulation 622/2008, OJ [2008] L 171/3 294
Art 3 1002
Art 4 1002
Art 5 1002
Art 3 559
Regulation 330/2010 on vertical agreements, OJ [2010] L 102/1 28, 177, 179, 297,
376, 601, 612, 636, 643, 651, 652, 664–87, 691, 693, 694, 795, 797, 906
Recital 3 671
Recital 11 684
Recital 14 685
Recital 15 686
Recital 16 686
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Art 1(1)(b) 666
Art 4 178, 645, 659, 661, 665, 667, 670, 677, 698
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Art 5(2) 684
Art 7 687
Art 9 687
Regulation 1217/2010, OJ [2010] L 335/36 28, 177, 376, 552, 604, 605, 607–11, 674,
689–91
Recital 2 607
Recital 8 608
Recital 9 608
Recital 11 608
Recital 12 608
Recital 15 610
Recital 17 691
Recital 20 691
Recital 21 611
Recital 22 607
Recital 23 691
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Art 1(1)(g) 608
Art 8 611
Regulation 1218/2010, OJ [2010] L 335/36 177, 359, 552, 613–15, 674, 800
Recital 6 613
Recital 7 613
Recital 10 614
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Recital 11 614
Recital 12 613
Recital 15 615
Art 6 615
Art 4 320
Art 25 321
Art 29 322
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Art 30 322
Regulation 316/2014, OJ [2014] L 93/17 177, 376, 671, 674, 691, 785, 795, 796, 798,
808, 827, 906
Recital 2 798
Recital 5 800
Recital 13 801
Recital 14 802
Recital 16 807
Recital 17 807
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"No better! Oh dear!" said Michael. Then, as the cold air
blew in upon him, he began to cough.
"But I want to hear what the doctor said. I want to know all
about it," Michael protested. "If you won't come inside, I
must stand here and catch cold."
"Oh, well, then," said the girl, yielding, "I don't want you to
catch your death." And she stepped inside.
Michael led her into the inner room, and tried feebly to stir
the dull fire into a blaze.
"Ah, poor father!" said the girl, her face clouding over.
She nodded. "This cold wind is so bad for him," she said.
Observing the girl more closely, Michael saw that her face
was wan and thin, with dark circles beneath the eyes.
"No, thank you," she said. "I'll make a cup for you with
pleasure; but none for me—thank you all the same."
"Well, put the kettle on," he said, thinking she might change
her mind, "and then tell me all the doctor said."
"That's more than I can tell you," said the girl, with a smile;
"but they say he is not without hope of pulling her through.
He says the next twenty-four hours will decide it."
"We must just hope for the best," said the girl, striving after
cheerfulness; "hope and pray, that's what we've got to do.
Did I tell you that Mrs. Lavers sent a message to us girls at
the club, asking us all to pray for her?"
"I make matches when I can get taken on," she replied;
"but just now is a slack time in the trade."
"Well," he said, with the kindest intention, "if there are any
of my books that you would like to read, I'm willing to lend
them to you."
"I must go now," she said. "I don't like to leave father for
long."
"Just kneel down and say a prayer for that poor little child. I
want to pray, but I can't. My heart is so hard—and—and—
it's years since I tried—but I'd like to hear you."
"Oh, I can't," she said; "I can't pray out loud like that."
She hesitated, her colour coming and going under the strain
of excited emotion.
"I'll try," she said at last. "She says it don't matter what
words we use, as long as they come from the heart. God
can read our heart, and He will understand."
CHAPTER XI
MUTUAL CONFESSION
The news she brought cheered him greatly. She had been
told that the little girl had taken a turn for the better, and
there now seemed hope of her recovery.
But the girl did not appear all that day, nor the second day,
nor the third. Michael began to feel a vague uneasiness
concerning her.
"Surely she might have come round just to say how pleased
she was," he thought. "Can it be that she wants to drop my
acquaintance, or is her father worse? If only I knew where
she lived, I'd go and see."
"I have not been well, sir; but I'm better now. I've had a
sharp attack of rheumatic fever, and it has left me as you
see. I shall never be again the man I was."
"I thought so. I could not doubt his story as he told it. It is
a sad story, Mr. Betts. He is now on his death-bed. I have
come to entreat you to go with me to him."
"Ay, I can come, sir; I have only to put up the shutters, and
I shall be ready."
Michael was slowly following him. The steep stairs tried his
breathing, the close, ill-smelling atmosphere made him feel
faint. He had to pause at the top of the stairs, clinging for a
moment to the unsteady bannister, ere he could find
strength to advance. As he waited, he heard a weak voice
within asking painfully:
"I've come, Frank," he said, turning his eyes upon the bed;
"I've come, and with all my heart, I wish I had come
sooner."
She knelt down beside the bed, and began fumbling for
something beneath the mattress. Presently she drew forth a
tiny bag made of faded scarlet flannel, which she placed
beside her father.
"Michael," said the sick man feebly, "I was a sore trial to
you before we parted. You might well feel ashamed of me,
as I know you did. I was a bad, ungrateful brother."
"But I must speak of it. I sent for you that I might speak of
it, as Mr. Mason knows. Michael, the last time you gave me
shelter in your home I was so ungrateful, so shameless,
that I stole one of your books and carried it off with me."
"I know that you did," replied Michael, "but never mind that
now, Frank."
"Don't say that I succeeded," said Mr. Mason. "It was the
grace of Christ that delivered you from sin and enabled you
to begin a new life."
"It is more than a year ago," said the sick man slowly,
"since I took the pledge, and Kate and I have been trying
ever since to add to the money in the bag. My wife left it in
Kate's hands; she knew she could not trust it to me. It has
not been easy to save. Kate put most into it, not I. She's a
good girl is Kate, though I say it."
"No, no, Frank; keep the money. I don't want it, indeed. I
would rather not have it."
"But you must take it," cried the other excitedly. "I can't
rest unless you do. Ah, Michael, you don't know, an honest,
respectable man as you've always been, what it is to have
the burden of such a deed resting on your conscience."
"I'd not believe it," returned his brother. "No, not if you said
it with your own lips, Michael."
CHAPTER XII
MICHAEL'S HOUSE BECOMES A HOME
THE reconciliation so late effected between the brothers was
complete. Michael's one thought now was how he might, in
the brief time that remained to him, atone in some degree
for the coldness and indifference of years. He would fain
have removed his brother to a more comfortable dwelling;
but the medical man whom he brought to give his opinion
refused to sanction the attempt. The risk was too great. The
excitement and fatigue involved in the removal would
probably hasten the end. All that could be done was to give
as homelike an appearance as possible to the dreary room
in which the sufferer lay, and to provide him with every
comfort his condition demanded.
"How very kind of you!" she said, as she admired the pink
blossoms. "Margery will be so pleased. I never knew such a
child as she is for flowers. Won't you come upstairs and see
her for a minute? I know she would like to see you, and all
fear of infection is past now."
"Mr. Betts has just come up to say, 'How do you do?' to you,
dear," said her mother, "and see what lovely flowers he has
brought you."
"Oh yes, much better, thank you. Mother says I shall soon
be able to run about again, but I don't feel as if I should be
able to run fast for some time to come. I can't even play
with Noel yet. He seems so rough and noisy."
"I see you are able to amuse yourself with your book,"
Michael said.
She shook her head, and her little face grew thoughtful.
"No, that's not the reason. It's because I never can tell to
what part of the book you belong. You can't be Christian or
Faithful, don't you see, because you say you never did
anything wrong in your life."
"I could never help loving Noel," said little Margery, "but
what did you do that was so wicked, Mr. Betts?"
"Don't ask me, miss. I would not like to tell you the bad
things I have done. Why, you've been one of the sufferers
by my wrong-doings. You ask your mother, and she'll tell
you how shamefully I wronged both her and you."
"No, no," said Mrs. Lavers, laying her hand gently on the old
man's arm, "Margery will never hear of that from me, Mr.
Betts. That's all over and done with. Don't speak of that
again, please."
"Then you had a burden all the time, Mr. Betts?" she said.
"I'm happier, miss; yes, truly, I'm happier than ever I was
before, but I can't forget the past. I'd give anything to be
able to live the years of my life over again."
"I would not mind if it were not for Kate," the dying man
murmured, turning towards his daughter with love and
yearning in his glance. "I don't like to leave her alone in the
world."
"She shall not be alone," said Michael, "there shall always
be a home for her with me."
"Do you hear that, Kate?" the sick man asked with
brightening eyes. "Your uncle says you shall have a home
with him."
"She'll love you, Michael; she'll love you too, if you're good
to her. She is a good girl, is Kate, though she has had a
rough bringing up. I called her Katharine, you know, after
our mother. I've tried to tell her what our mother was, that
she might be like her. But I've been a poor father to her.
Mine has been a wasted, ill-spent life, and now I can but
give it back into the hands of God, trusting in His mercy
through Jesus Christ."
Michael took the weeping girl to his own home, and did his
best to comfort her. Mrs. Wiggins predicted that Kate would
not long live with her uncle. It seemed to her impossible
that so ill-assorted a pair could get on together, or a girl
accustomed to a free, independent life, put up with an old
man's fidgets. But the result proved her prediction false.
Kate was of a warm, affectionate nature, and pity
constrained her to be patient with the poor, lonely old man,
whilst he was disposed to cling at any cost to the only being
who belonged to him.