This thread brought to mind Mark Twain's brilliant story Italian Without a Master published in 1868, in particular this brief excerpt which concerned smoking:
"After a couple of days’ rest I now come back to my subject and seek a case in point. I find it without trouble, in the morning paper; a cablegram from Chicago and Indiana by way of Paris. All the words save one are guessable by a person ignorant of Italian:
"Revolverate in teatro
"Parigi, 27.–La Patrie ha da Chicago:
"Il guardiano del teatro dell’opera di Walace (Indiana), avendo voluto espellare uno spettatore che continuava a fumare malgrado il diviety, questo spalleggiato dai suoi amici tir`o diversi colpi di rivoltella. Il guardiano ripose. Nacque una scarica generale. Grande panico tra gli spettatori. Nessun ferito.
"Translation.–“Revolveration in Theater. Paris, 27th. La Patrie has from Chicago: The cop of the theater of the opera of Wallace, Indiana, had willed to expel a spectator which continued to smoke in spite of the prohibition, who, spalleggiato by his friends, tir’o (Fr. tir’e, Anglice pulled) manifold revolver-shots; great panic among the spectators. Nobody hurt.”"
