MAN 
nity of enlarging his habitation, and multi- 
plying his scientific acquirements ; instead 
of confining him, like the inferior animals, 
to a bounded range. He is completely un- 
restrained in the choice of his dwelling by 
considerations of air, tempei ature, &c. ; and 
consequently far exceeds all other parts of 
animated creation in extension over the 
surface of the globe. Gnielin experienced 
cold of 126“ beiow 0 of Fahrenheit’s scale, 
at Jeniseik, in Siberia. The Greenlander 
lives, and follows his occupations, where the 
vegetaltle creation can no longer subsist, 
and where the snow-bunting, with the polar 
fox and bear, half frozen, and perishing 
with hunger, hide themselves in holes of the 
ground. On the contrary, in Senegal, the 
I thermometer mounts sometimes to 117° 
above 0 ; and a natural warmth of 125“ has 
been experienced. In short, man lives in 
every part of the known world (excepting 
some unexplored northern countries, and a 
few remote southern islands), from Green- 
land to Terra del Fuego, from Spitzhergen 
to the Cape, from the 80th degree of north 
to the 58th of south latitude. 
MANDAMUS, is a writ issuing in the 
King’s name, out of the Court of King's 
Bench, and directed to any person, corpo- 
ration, or inferior court of judicature, com- 
manding them to do some particular thing, 
as appertaining to their office and duty. 
A writ of mandamus is a high preroga- 
tive writ, of a most extensive remedial na- 
ture, and may be issued, in some cases, 
where the injured party has also another 
more tedious method of redress, as in the 
case of admission or restitution to an of- 
fice; but it issues in all cases where the 
party has a right to have any thing done, 
and hath no other specific means of com- 
pelling its performance. And this general ju- 
risdiction and superintendaucy of the King’s 
Bench over all inferior courts to restrain 
them within their bounds, and to compel 
them to execute their jurisdiction, whether 
such jurisdiction arises from a modern char- 
ter, subsists by custom, or is created by 
act of parliament ; yet being in subsidimn 
judici'F, has of late been exercised in a va- 
riety of instances. 
It is grounded on a suggestion by affida- 
vit of the party’s own right, and the denial 
of justice below. It is .sometimes granted 
upon a rule to shew cause only, but some- 
times it is peremptory in the first instance. 
When it issues to do the thing, or shew 
cause, an action lies for a false return, if 
tliere be in fact such false return; but the 
VOL. IV. 
MAN 
Court will not itself try the truth of the 
return in the first instance. It is usually 
applied to the restoring of officers in corpo- 
rations, or to electing new ones where 
others have been wrongfully elected. See 
statutes 9 Anne, c. 20, and 12 George III. 
c. 21. It is a writ of very general appli- 
cation, and great utility, and may be said 
generally to lie where any person by his 
office has a clear duty to perform, and neg- 
lects to perform it; and the Court can order 
him to do the act required. 
MANDRAKE, a species of the Atropa, 
from which a reference has been made, pos- 
sesses a long taper root resembling the 
parsnep; running three or four feet into the 
ground ; immediately from the crown of the 
root arises a circle of leaves, at first stand- 
ihg erect, but when grown to their full size, 
they spread open and lie upon the ground ; 
these leaves are more than a foot in length, 
and about five inches broad in the middle, 
of a dark-green colour, and a foetid scent: 
among these come out the flowers, each on 
a scape, three inches in length; they are 
five-cornered, of an herbaceous white co- 
lour, spreading open at top like a primrose, 
having five hairy stamens, and a globular 
germ supporting an awl-shaped style, which 
becomes a globular soft berry, when full- 
grown as large as a nutmeg, of a yellowish 
green colour, and when ripe full of pulp. 
Many singular facts are related of this 
plant, among which we select the following : 
the roots have been supposed to bear a re- 
semblance to the human form, and are fi- 
gured as such in the old herbals, being dis- 
tinguished into the male with a long beard, 
and the female with a prolix head of hair. 
Mountebanks carry about fictitious images, 
shaped from roots of biyony and other 
plants, cut into form, or forced to grow 
through moulds of earthen ware, as man- 
drake-roots. It was fabled to grow under 
a gallows, where the matter falling from 
the dead body gave it the shape of a man ; 
to utter a great shriek, or terrible groans at 
the digging up ; and it was asserted, that 
he who would take up a plant of mandrake, 
should in common prudence tie a dog to it, 
for that purpose ; for if a man should do it 
himself, he would surely die soon after. See 
Martyn’s botany. 
MANDREL, a kind of wooden pulley, 
making a member of the turner’s lathe, of 
which there are several kinds, as the flat 
mandrels, which have three or more little 
pegs or points near the verge, and are used 
for turning fiat boards on ; the pin man- 
Q 
