Chapter 37 Chapter Ten: The First Day in Pretoria

I thought Dada Abdullah's lawyer would send someone to pick me up at the station, because I had specifically promised not to live in an Indian's house, and I knew no Indian would come to pick me up.Unexpectedly, the lawyer did not send anyone.I realized later that since I arrived on a Sunday, it must be inconvenient for him to send someone.I felt embarrassed and didn't know where to go, because I was afraid that no hotel would take me in. The situation at Pretoria Station in 1893 was very different from that in 1914.At that time, the lights were dim and the tourists were few and far between.I waited for all the passengers to leave, thinking that if the ticket collector was free, I could hand him the ticket and ask him to point me to a small hotel or other places where I could stay; Stand overnight.I must confess that I dare not ask him even this, for fear of being insulted.

All the passengers on the station were gone, so I handed the ticket to the ticket collector and started asking questions.He answered me politely, but I could see that he couldn't be much help.However, a black American standing next to me started talking to me. "So," he said, "you're a real stranger without any friends. If you'd like to come with me, I'll take you to a small hotel owned by an American, and I'll go with him. Very familiar, I think he will take you in." I was a little skeptical about the suggestion, but I thanked him and accepted his advice.He took me to the Johnston Family Hotel.He took Johnston aside for a few words, and Johnston agreed to let me stay the night, but on one condition: I could only eat in my room.

"I assure you," he said, "I have no racial stereotypes. But I only have European customers, so if I let you eat in the dining room, my customers might be upset and walk away." "Thank you," I said, "even if I can only stay here for one night. I understand the situation here more or less now, and I understand your difficulties. It doesn't matter if you ask me to have dinner in the room. I hope to make another arrangement tomorrow. " I was taken into a room where I sat alone waiting for my meal, lost in thought.There were not many guests in the hotel, and I thought the waiter would bring the meal soon, but Johnston came in himself.He said, "I'm really sorry I asked you to eat here. So I told the other guests about you and asked them if it was all right to invite you to the dining room. They said they had no problem and that you would like to live here." They don't mind how long it takes. So I'll invite you to eat in the dining room, and, if you don't mind, you can stay here as long as you like."

I thanked him again and went to the dining room for a good meal.The next morning I went to call on the lawyer, Mr. A. V. Baker.Abdullah Sai had given me an overview of his character, so I was not surprised by his warm reception.He received me very warmly and asked me some questions with great concern.I told him everything about myself.Then he said: "We don't have any lawyer's work here that we can ask you to do, because we have already hired the best consultants. This case has been dragging on for a long time and is also very complicated, so what I want to ask you is just to understand Some necessary information. And you can certainly make my communication with the client more convenient, because everything I need in the future can be obtained through you. This is of course beneficial. I haven't found you a lodging yet, I think Better wait till I see you. There's a horrible racial prejudice here, so it's not easy to find a place for someone like you. But I know a poor woman who's a baker's wife. I think she'll Take you in, so that she can also increase her income. Let's go, let's go to her place to have a look."

So he took me to her house, and he consulted with her privately, and she agreed to take me, board and lodging, at thirty-five shillings a week. Although Mr. Baker is a lawyer, he is also a firm and ordinary preacher.He is still alive now, and has given up his career as a lawyer to devote himself to church work.He is a man of wealth.He still corresponds to me now, and his letters always talk about the same subject.He argues that Christianity is the best religion from many different points of view, and believes that it is impossible to obtain eternal peace without recognizing Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and the Savior of mankind.

When we first met, Mr. Baker asked me for my views on religion.I said to him, "I am a Hindu by birth, but I know very little about Hinduism, and even less about other religions. To be honest, I am not sure about this matter, and I don't know much about it." What I believe and what I should believe. I want to study my own religion and, if possible, other religions." After hearing what I said, Mr. Baker said happily: "I am one of the directors of the South African Missionary Federation. I have built a church with my own money, and I preach there on time. I have no racial prejudice. I have several A colleague, we meet together for a few minutes every afternoon at one o'clock, praying for peace and light. I would be happy if you would come and join us for prayer. I can introduce you to my colleagues, they must love to see you , and I dare say you will enjoy their company too. Besides, I can show you some religious books, of course, the Bible is the book of thousands of books, which I especially recommend to you."

I thanked Mr. Baker and promised to be on time for the one o'clock prayer meeting if possible. "Then I'll meet you here at one o'clock to-morrow, and we'll meet and pray together," added Mr. Baker, and we parted. I didn't have time to think about it.I went to Mr. Johnston's, paid the rent, and moved to the new lodgings, where I had lunch. The landlady is a kind woman.She made me a vegetarian meal.Before long I became acquainted with the family. Then I went to meet a friend whom Dada Abdullah had referred.He told me of more sufferings suffered by the Indian sojourners in South Africa.He must invite me to live in his home.I thanked him for his kindness and told him I had made arrangements.He asked me not to hesitate to tell him anything I needed.

By this time it was already dark.When I got home, I retired to my room after supper, and lay in bed, lost in deep thought.There was no immediate work to be done and I informed Abdullah Sai of the situation.I thought to myself, what does Mr. Baker mean by taking such an interest in me?What can I expect from his fellow believers?How far can I study Christianity?How can I get Hindu books?I don't have a thorough understanding of my own religion, how can I understand Christianity correctly?I can only come to one conclusion: that I should study everything that comes my way, without emotion, and let God direct me as to what to do with Mr. Baker's company; Another religion should not be professed.

Thinking like this, I fell asleep.