ce it here to say, that
she had sought in vain to find Christians with whom she could be
united in fellowship according to the truths she thought she saw in
my Narrative, and according to what she had seen and heard at our
meetings in. Bristol. At last, about New-year, 1843, she became
acquainted with a little baptist church, which was separated from the
State church, and she was after a time baptized and received into
fellowship among them, which took place in Feb. 1843. Soon, however,
she found things different, as to church order, etc., from what she
had seen amongst us in Bristol, or from what she had learnt from my
Narrative, especially with reference to close baptist principles,
which in the highest and strongest degree were practised among the
brethren at Stuttgart: and she wrote to me, to ask my view about that
point, as she felt pained at separating from true believers, because
they might not be instructed about believers' baptism. Her letter was
accompanied by another letter from one of the brethren of the baptist
church, Dr. R--, a solicitor or barrister to the upper tribunal of
the kingdom of Wirtemberg. The letter of the latter testified of the
gracious spirit of the writer, but also that he likewise held the
separating views of close communion, and that he, having read the
translation of my Narrative in manuscript, seemed to be drawn and
knit to me affectionately, but wished to have, upon Scriptural
ground, my views about open communion.

Before I received these letters, I had been repeatedly asked, during
my fourteen years' residence in England, why I did not labour in my
native country. The importance also of doing so had been pointed out
to me; nor was I myself insensible to this; but my answer had always
been: "I must labour where the Lord will have me to be, and as I have
never seen it to be the Lord's will, that I should labour in Germany,
I ought not to do so." About fourteen months before I received these
letters, it had been also more than ever laid on my heart by brother
R. C. He had seen something of the religious state of the Continent,
and he had heard still more about it, and he had found, almost every
where, that when he set truth before brethren, they said, It is
Scriptural, you are right; but if we were to practice this, what
would be the consequences? what would become of us and our wives and
children? or something of that kind. Brother C. therefore came on
purpose to see me, on his retu