Sentence:  I am a <WSD>temperate</WSD> man and have made it a rule not to drink before luncheon. But I was so much ashamed of my first feeling about Gorman that I thought it well to break my rule. ... I gave my vote for whisky and soda as the more thorough-going drink of the two. A cocktail is seldom more than a mouthful. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions