October 6th, 1872. Fine.

Today being Sunday, the people of the city closed their doors and commercial activity ceased almost completely. There are few places, even in Britain, where Sunday is so strictly observed as a day of rest. This is no doubt because there are so many factory workers here.

October 7th. Cloudy; rain.

In the morning we received a deputation from a temperance society and speeches were exchanged. Temperance societies are associations which advocate the prohibition of alcohol and tobacco. Among the various pleasures which people indulge in, the drinking of alcohol and smoking of tobacco are regarded, in Western culture, as unseemly habits. No woman, therefore, smokes in public, and it is also regarded as shameful for a woman to drink alcohol. Generally speaking, alcohol is drunk only at certain times and in accordance with strict customs. Smoking is permitted only in particular rooms: one is not allowed to smoke wherever one wishes.

In the West, the educated man, the gentleman, regards decorum, especially in language and in eating and drinking, as the beginning of propriety in all conduct. And his restraint in smoking and drinking has naturally influenced those below him, as the wind causes the grass to bend, so that ordinary people also now take the view that drunkenness is shameful and that one should exercise moderation in smoking.