it in a position scarcely distinguishable from
orthodox Hinduism. Debendra Nath Tagore sought refuge from the
difficulty by becoming an ascetic. The "Brahma Samaj of India," as
Chunder Sen's party styled itself, made considerable progress
extensively and intensively until 1878, when a number of the most
prominent adherents, led by Anand Mohan Bose, took umbrage at Chunder
Sen's despotic rule and at his disregard of the society's regulations
concerning child marriage. This led to the formation of the Sadharana
(Universal) Brahma Samaj, now the most popular and progressive of the
three sections of the movement and conspicuous for its work in the cause
of literary culture, social reform and female education in India. But
even when we add all sections of the Brahma Samaj together, the total
number of adherents is only about 4000, mostly found in Calcutta and its
neighbourhood. A small community (about 130) in Bombay, known as the
Prarthna (Prayer) Samaj, was founded in 1867 through Keshub Chunder's
influence; they have a similar creed to that of the Brahma Samaj, but
have broken less decisively with orthodox and ceremonial Hinduism.

See the articles on ARYA, SAMAJ, KESHUB CHUNDER SEN, RAM MOHAN ROY.
Also John Robson, _Hinduism and Christianity_; and the _Theistic
Quarterly Review_ (the organ of the Society since 1880).

BRAHMS, JOHANNES (1833-1897), German composer, was born in Hamburg on
the 7th of May 1833. He was the son of a double-bass player in the
Hamburg city theatre and received his first musical instruction from his
father. After some lessons from O. Cossel, he went to Cossel's master,
Eduard Marxsen of Altona, whose experience and artistic taste directed
the young man's genius into the highest paths. A couple of public
appearances as a pianist were hardly an interruption to the course of
his musical studies, and these were continued nearly up to the time when
Brahms accepted an engagement as accompanist to the Hungarian violinist,
Remenyi, for a concert tour in 1853. At Gottingen there occurred a
famous _contretemps_ which had a most important though indirect
influence on the whole after-life of the young player. A piano on which
he was to play the "Kreutzer" sonata of Beethoven with Remenyi turned
out to be a semitone below the required pitch; and Brahms played the
part by heart, transposing it from A to B flat, in such a way that the
great violinist, Joachim, who was present and discerned what the