This historian further informs us, that this sect is to be found in Syria, and as far to the east as Nineveh, from which place, some years ago, one of the Karaites came to Frankfort, in Germany. He brought with him some books, which he valued at a very high price. He then visited Poland, Muscovy, and Lithuania, where many of them are residing at this day. This proves to us the folly of the vulgar notion, that this sect are extinct in the west. Doubtless, there are still many Karaites in these countries who trace their origin from the Tartars. Our historian further informs us that, in the course of his travels, he met in Damascus two hundred Karaites, four hundred Samaritans, and about three thousand Pharisees, and that none of these sects would intermarry; and consequently, they remain to this day distinct and separate, so far as regards their religious intercourse and forms of worship. In all other respects, however, they are friendly with each other, and mix together in society as citizens of the world. CHAPTER IX. Of the Synagogues among the Jews. The term synagogue signifies simply an assemblage of persons, which name was applied to places or houses in which the people met for religious worship. Among the Israelites of old, the word synagogue was used in its primary sense; as when they speak of the great synagogue, or the court of the seventy elders, which was instituted in the days of Moses, the legislator, to superintend the political affairs of the nation. The number of seventy became, in later days, increased to one hundred and twenty. Synagogues were originally instituted as chapels of ease, for the convenience of those persons who lived far distant from the temple, and could not, therefore, attend regularly to divine service. In the later ages of the Jewish state, synagogues became very numerous, even in Jerusalem, where the temple stood. The silence of the old testament respecting synagogues, and the absence of any other authentic account, have induced most historians to conclude that synagogues were not generally in use before the Babylonish captivity. It appears to be the current opinion of many who have written on the subject, that synagogues were first built during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. They directed that in every town and city throughout the land, where ten men could be assembled, synagogues should be erected for divine worship, which consisted of prayers and praises, reading the scripture, and expounding the same, in the language of the country in which the people lived.