Lapelle, or Lapel. The facings of uniform coats were formerly so termed. Until the introduction of epaulettes in 1812, the white lapelle was synonymous with a lieutenant’s commission in the British service.
Lapithæ. A wild race, inhabiting, in ancient times, the mountains of Thessaly. They derived their name from a mythical ancestor, Lapithes, a son of Apollo, and the brother of Centauros, the equally mythical ancestor of the Centaurs. A bloody war is said to have been waged between the kindred races in prehistoric times, which ended in the defeat of the Centaurs, but the Lapithæ were in their turn defeated by Hercules.
Laplander. An inhabitant of Lapland, a country of Northern Europe.
Lapse. To fall in, or belong to. This expression was formerly used in the British army to signify the reversion of any military property. Thus, upon the sale or purchase of one commission at the regulated difference, another (where there are two) is said to lapse to government. Commissions lapse, or fall into the patronage of government, when vacancies happen by death, by officers being superseded, or where officers apply to sell who have only purchased a part of their commissions, and have not served long enough to be entitled to sell the whole; in which case they are only permitted to sell what they actually purchased, and the remainder is in the gift of the government.
Lap-weld. A weld in which the welding edges are made thin, lapped one over the other and welded.
Laranda (now Larenda, or Caraman). A considerable town in the south of Lycaonia. It was taken by storm by Perdiccas, but afterwards restored. It was used by the Isaurian robbers as one of their strongholds.
Largs. A seaport of Scotland, in Ayrshire, 23 miles southwest from Glasgow. Here, in 1263, Alexander III. of Scotland gained a victory over Haco, king of Norway.
Lariat. The lasso, a long cord or thong of leather with a noose, used in catching wild horses and other animals. The term is now applied to a rope 11⁄4 inches in circumference and 30 feet long, made of Italian hemp, which is used in the U. S. cavalry service to picket horses while grazing.
La Roda. A town of Spain, in the province of Murcia, 22 miles northwest from Albacete. This place is famous for the defense it made against the Carlists in 1840.
La Rothière (France), Battle of. Took place between the French, commanded by Napoleon, and the Prussian and Russian armies, which were defeated with great loss after a desperate engagement, February 1, 1814. This was one of Napoleon’s last victories.