Linstock. A short staff of wood, about 3 feet long, having at one end a piece of iron divided into two branches, each of which has a notch to hold a lighted match, and a screw to fasten it there, the other end being shod with iron to stick into the ground.
Linstock Socket. A socket attached to the piece in which the linstock was formerly carried.
Lipan Indians. A warlike tribe of aborigines residing in Texas and Mexico.
Lippe, or Lippe Detmold. A small principality of Northwest Germany, the chief part of which is comprised between Prussian Westphalia, Hanover, and the principality Pyrmont. The surface is hilly, partly covered by the Teutoburger Wald, where Arminius exterminated the legions of Varus.
Lis (Fr.). A warlike machine was formerly so called. It consisted of a piece of wood or a stake, about the size of the human body, which was made smaller at the top than at the bottom, and resembled a lily not yet blown. Several of these were tied together with ozier or willow twigs, and were used for the security of a camp. They were not unlike the palisades of the present day.
Lisaine. A small river in France, rising in the Vosges Mountains, and flowing west of the fortress of Belfort. On January 15, 16, and 17, 1871, a terrible contest raged here between the French army under Bourbaki and the Germans under Von Werder, the French being finally compelled to retreat. The German loss was about 2000; the French about 6000.
Lisbon. The capital of Portugal, situated on the north bank of the Tagus, near its mouth in the Atlantic. In 1807 it was occupied by the French, and was afterwards the scene of important operations between the British and French armies, until the latter were finally driven from Portugal.
Lisburn. A town of Ireland, in the county of Antrim, on the Lagan, 8 miles southwest from Belfast. It was founded in 1627, and in 1641 was laid in ashes by the Irish insurgents. It was again burnt in 1707.
Lisieux. A town of France, in the department Calvados, situated near the confluence of the Orbec and the Tanque. The Normans pillaged it in the 8th century, and retained it for a considerable time. It has since been frequently besieged and captured, and was last taken by Henri Quatre in 1588.
Lisle, or Lille. A city of France, formerly the capital of French Flanders, and now of the department of the North. It was founded in 1009 by Baudouin IV., count of Flanders. It fell into the power of Philip the Fair, after a siege of three months in 1297, and was taken again by Guy, count of Flanders, in 1302. The Protestants attempted in vain to surprise it in 1581, and the French besieged it without success in 1645. Wrested from the Spaniards by Louis XIV. in 1667, and retaken by the allies in 1708, after a long and obstinate siege, it was ceded to France by the treaty of Utrecht. The Austrians bombarded it from September 29 till October 6, 1792, but the garrison, admirably supported by the bravery of the inhabitants, compelled them to raise the siege.