THE LAGRANGE-LEFEVRE' FUSION' 211 



and already taken a ' place ' among tlie winning owners 

 (with 4,525/.) 



That reappearance was one of the most notable 

 events of the Turf in 1874, though its full effects were 

 not to be seen till MM. de Lagrange and Lefevre 

 joined forces and formed what has been called ' the 

 fusion ' — another ' Big Stable ' after the Niviere-La- 

 grange pattern. The ' fusion ' was rendered easy, if not 

 inevitable, by the arrangements which had been made at 

 the time when (as already mentioned) M. Lefevre took 

 over Count de Lagrange's stable (but not breeding stud) 

 bodily or nearly so on the eve or at the commence- 

 ment of ' les evenements.' After that M. Lefevre took 

 the place which had been won by Count F. de La- 

 grange and held it until the Count's colours reappeared 

 in 1874 ; and that reappearance, if there be no mistake, 

 dated (at any rate in France) from the day upon which 

 Frondeur carried the once familiar ' blue, red sleeves 

 and cap ' at Paris Autumn Meeting, though no doubt 

 the ' Lagrange-Lefevre ' horses had become a little 

 ' mixed,' so that it is in some cases difficult to distin- 

 guish ' t'other from which ' and assign every runner to 

 the proper owner.' 



And now, ere we pass on to 1875, attention must 

 be drawn to a deed of daring on the part of the 

 French : they matched their horse Peut-etre (three 

 years, 7 st. 11 lbs., car. 7 st. 12 lbs.) to run the celebrated 

 Prince Charhe (foaled in France, by the way ; five years, 

 8 St. 10 lbs.) over Rowley's mile. This was a match 

 worthy of the intrepid French ' sapeur ' to whom 

 ' nothing is sacred.' Here was Prince Charlie, who, 

 though only a prince in his own right, had won the 

 title of 'King of the T.Y.C.,' whom Drummond, and 

 Blenheim, and Chopette, and Tangible, and Vulcan, all 



p 2 



