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96 had adopted Müller’s religious opinions, and on her return to Stuttgart she went to the Baptist Church, was baptised and received into membership. Her letter was accompanied by one from a leading member of her church, “a solicitor or barrister to the Upper Tribunal of the kingdom of Wirtemberg”. He “wished to have upon Scriptural grounds” Müller’s “views about open communion”.

Müller, who was as far as possible from sharing Darby’s predilection for ambiguous verbiage, has left one of his plain and business-like statements to explain his motives in undertaking the mission to Stuttgart. “I knew not of one single body of believers who were gathered on Scriptural principles. In all the States of Germany, with scarcely any exception, the believers are connected with the State Churches, and the very few believers of whom I had heard that they were separated I knew to be close Baptists, who, generally, by their most exclusive separatist views, only confirmed believers in remaining in the Establishment.”

He left Bristol with Mrs. Müller and a German lady, whose story illustrates the principles of these strict Baptists. She and another convert to Baptist views had applied to the little church at Stuttgart to be admitted to baptism. But this was refused them unless they would “promise never to take the Lord’s Supper any more with unbaptised believers or with those who belonged to any State Church”. They declined to enter into such an engagement, and actually undertook the journey of 800 miles to Bristol to be baptised by Müller.

The party reached Stuttgart on the 19th of August. Müller was received by the Baptists with open arms. He was asked to expound at all their usual meetings, and also at extra meetings specially arranged for all the other