There are in Constantinople over a hundred of these theological colleges, or _madrassehs_. In the provinces each important town is provided with several. These seminaries of old Moslem culture are not peculiar to Turkey--they exist also in Egypt, Persia, and some other Oriental countries, and at one time they were the only places of instruction. They served not only as schools for religious teaching when they were originally founded in past days, but all branches of human knowledge known in the East were to be taught in them. In Constantinople some of them still retain their original names--'_Madrasseh_ of Medicine,' 'Madrasseh of History,' and so on. The Moslem people were formerly divided into two distinct classes--the great illiterate mass, and the learned hierarchy known as _Ulema_. Although all instruction given in the _madrasseh_ was formed on the basis of the faith of Islam, the _Ulema_ were certainly not entirely theologians. They were certainly not priests, as Islam recognises no spiritual authority. Mohammed has stated distinctly that "there is no priesthood in Islam." With the lapse of time human knowledge advanced, and the high culture which existed among Moslems in mediæval times decayed; but still the _Ulema_ continued to teach the Arabic language, with its literature and law, secular and spiritual. Ultimately countries like Turkey and Egypt felt the necessity of learning something from the progressive nations of Europe, and, in imitation of their educational institutions, began to establish schools and colleges for modern learning and science. In the Ottoman empire the _Ulema_, having nearly lost their occupations as professors and judges, now hold a peculiar position, which somewhat resembles a sort of priesthood. Of course, this class still retains its old professional titles, receives pensions, and lives on the revenues accruing from charitable endowments. Moreover, its members still have a greater influence over the ignorant masses than persons of modern education, but they are not now of much service to the State. The _madrassehs_ are, notwithstanding, still full of students who wish to become members of that body, but the more intelligent of them, instead of attending the old course of lectures in the mosques, go to some modern college in order to qualify themselves for professions which will be of practical use to them. Many of them spend their time in the _madrassehs_ idly, or simply live in them till they have passed an examination by which they are exempted from military service, and then return to their towns and villages. Again, some of these students who are really working, instead of attending one of the modern colleges, go to an institution founded for the training of the _Kadis_ or semi-religious magistrates. These students are all called _Softas_. All the affairs of the _madrassehs_ are under the control of the office of the Sheikh-ul-Islam, which, though it still forms a distinct ministry, and though the