LIQUID FIRE 



3456 



LISBON 



duces the photographic power of Roentgen 

 rays to seventeen per cent of the normal, and 

 lowers the resistance of metals to electricity. 

 Copper, ordinarily a poorer conductor of elec- 

 tricity than silver, it makes a better conductor. 

 Liquid air itself is a non-conductor. 



Liquid air was first made by Wroblewski of 

 Cracow, in Austrian Poland, in 1883. Previous 

 to that date no one had succeeded in produc- 

 ing a sufficiently low temperature to accom- 

 plish the feat. 



LIQUID FIRE, introduced into the War of 

 the Nations by the Germans, is a modern 

 successor to Greek fire (which is described in 

 these volumes under its own title). The liquid 

 in its composition was frequently a mixture 

 of gasoline and pitch or other coal-tar oil. It 

 was shot from an apparatus known as a Flam- 

 menwerjer, or flame-thrower, for which a num- 

 ber of patents had been granted several years 

 before the war. In the Flammenwerfer were 

 two barrels. From the large lower one the 

 main stream of the combustible liquid was pro- 

 pelled. From the upper barrel came a smaller 

 stream which was automatically ignited as it 

 reached the air, forming a jet of fire which fell 

 upon the principal flow, set fire to it at the 

 point where flames were desired, and was then 

 shut off. The force of the discharge prevented 

 the fire from creeping back to the flame- 

 thrower, and by slowly changing his aim, the 

 operator could move the flames where he 

 wished. In addition to the intense heat, the 

 burning of the tar products caused a thick gray 

 smoke and an unbearable' smell. 



LIQUORS, lik'erz. See DISTILLED LIQUORS. 



LIRA, le'rah, the coin which is the basis of 

 the monetary standard in Italy, having the 

 same position as the dollar in the United States 

 and Canada. A millionaire in Italy is one who 

 has a million lire. The lira is a silver piece 

 which circulates 

 in the Latin 

 Monetary Union 

 (France, Italy, 

 Switzerland, Bel- 

 gium and Greece) 

 at par with the THE LIRA 



French, Swiss and Obverse and reverse sides. 

 Belgian franc and the Greek drachma. It con- 

 tains one hundred centesimi and is worth about 

 $0.193 in American and Canadian money. 

 Sometimes the same name is given to the Turk- 

 ish coin of one hundred piastres, worth about 

 $4.40. Lira is a corruption of the Latin word 

 libra, meaning a pound. 



LISBON, liz'bon, the immediate successor 

 of Venice in the early modern period as the 

 maritime queen of the Western world, is tin- 

 capital of Portugal. It is majestically situated 

 on a low range of hills overlooking the Tagu.s 

 River at a spot where that stream broadens to 

 a width of nine miles, about seven miles from 

 the ocean. In the background rises the lofty 

 granite range of Cintra, and interspersed every- 

 where are semi-tropical gardens. Lisbon ranks 

 next to Naples and Constantinople in regard to 

 beauty of situation. Its harbor is one of the 

 finest in the world deep, well-sheltered and 

 large enough to hold all the navies of Europe. 

 The seeker after the picturesque must frequent 

 the water front and the old section of the city 

 which escaped the terrible earthquake of 1755; 

 for the new quarter, constructed since that date, 

 is decidedly modern, with wide, regular streets 

 lined with fine homes and shops and adorned 

 with many beautiful squares. The old quarter 

 lies under the shadow of Moorish castle walls, 

 and presents many curious sights along the 

 steep narrow thoroughfares. Here no wagons 

 pass, for the poor carry their burdens on their 

 heads, and the more prosperous load down their 

 donkeys. The cries of peddlers rend the air, 

 and the vegetable venders still carry their stock 

 in trade in baskets suspended from long sticks 

 across their shoulders. Many Lisbon types are 

 also found along the water front. 



The finest structure in Lisbon is the monas- 

 tery and church of Belem, a monument to the 

 great seamen of Portugal, begun in 1500. The 

 monastery is now used as an orphanage. The 

 church of Estrella, with its dome of white mar- 

 ble, is a reduced copy of Saint Peter's at Rome. 

 The former royal palaces are not of particular 

 beauty. The government offices, the custom- 

 house and the marine arsenal surround one of 

 the city's finest squares, facing the bay. Here 

 also are to be found a military arsenal, military 

 and naval schools, libraries, academies of art 

 and public schools of high standard. However, 

 the arts and sciences are not in a flourishing 

 condition. The manufacture of gold and silver 

 wares, cotton spinning and weaving embrace 

 Lisbon's leading industry ; its exports, valued at 

 over $20,000,000 annually, embrace wine, cork, 

 fish, cattle, oil, salt and fruits. 



Previous to 1147 Lisbon was taken three 

 times by the Christians from the Moors. It 

 has suffered severely from several earthquakes, 

 and has been the victim of plagues. But the 

 greatest disaster experienced was the earth- 

 quake of 1755, when in less than ten minutes 



