MANDEVILLE 



3622 



MANDRAKE 



lished. The Chinese equivalent is kwan, mean- 

 ing a public character. Mandarins were of dif- 

 ferent rank, and their relative positions were 

 denoted by the color of the buttons on their 

 ornamental caps. Governors and generals dis- 

 played buttons of red coral; lieutenant-gov- 

 ernors and judges, blue stones; lower officers, 

 white, crystal and yellow. Each mandarin wore 

 an official robe ; that of the military man being 

 embroidered with representations of beasts; 

 that of the civil officer, with birds; the judicial 

 robe was plainer. By law a Chinaman could 

 become a mandarin by promotional examina- 

 tions. One could not hold the position of man- 

 darin in his native province, could not marry 

 in the province to which he was assigned, and 

 could not acquire property in it. Tenure of 

 office in one province was not longer than three 

 years. 



MANDEVILLE, man' devil, SIR JOHN DE, 

 traditional author of a fourteenth-century book 

 of travels, whose marvels have delighted many 

 a reader. The narrator gives what purports to 

 be an account of his wanderings in Turkey, 

 Arabia, Egj^pt, India, the Holy Land, and other 

 parts of the East. In reality the book is a 

 compilation based upon a book of travels by 

 William of Boldensele .(1336), the journal of 

 Friar Odoric of Pordenone (1330), and other 

 medieval writings. The book appeared origi- 

 nally in French, and there are three English 

 versions extant. According to best authority, 

 the real author of the travels was one John 

 of Burgoyne, who died at Liege in 1372. 



MANDINGO, man ding 'go, a West African 

 group of negroes, who live in the region extend- 

 ing from the Senegal and Upper Niger rivers 

 to Monrovia, on the coast of Liberia. They 

 number several millions and are divided into 

 very numerous tribes, each of which has its 

 own dialect. The Mandingo, who were brought 

 to an acceptance of the doctrines of Moham- 

 med many centuries ago, have advanced far 

 from their original, state of savagery their 

 food, dress and homes being those of a civilized 

 people. They are lean and athletic in build; 

 their skin varies from olive to black, and their 

 features often show a marked departure from 

 the ordinary negro type. 



MANDOLIN, man'dohlin, a musical instru- 

 ment of the same general character as the lute, 

 and like the latter, an instrument of great an- 

 tiquity. It has from four to six double strings, 

 is gourd-shaped, and terminates in a neck fitted 

 with many frets. It is played with a plectrum, 

 or pick, of tortoise shell, whalebone, or other 



flexible material, which is held between the 

 thumb and first finger of the right hand. A 

 long note is produced by rapid, successive 

 strokes on a double string, the tone produced 

 having a peculiar tremulous quality. The 

 mandolin is of Italian origin, the chief varieties 

 being the Neapolitan with four double strings, 



MANDOLIN 



and the Milanese with five. Though it has 

 never been a regular orchestral instrument, 

 music for the mandolin has occasionally been 

 introduced into operatic scores as an accom- 

 paniment for serenades. A notable example is 

 the music for the celebrated serenade in Mo- 

 zart's Don Juan. See LUTE. 



MAN 'DRAKE, a genus of plants with broad 

 leaves and bright-yellow flowers. For many 

 years the root was employed in medicine, and 



THE MANDRAKE, OR MAY APPLE 

 Above, a bud and cross section of flower. 



has long been an object of much superstition 

 among ignorant people. According to an old 

 and strange fancy the mandrake shrieks when 

 pulled from the ground, and if properly con- 

 sulted as an oracle brings good luck to the 



