Life on board a pleasure steamer violates every moral and physical condition of healthy life except fresh air... It is a guzzling, lounging, gambling, dog's life. The only alternative to excitement is irritability.

Summary

This quote criticizes the experience of life on a pleasure steamer, highlighting how it contradicts principles of moral and physical well-being. The author argues that, although fresh air is an exception, the overall atmosphere is characterized by excessive indulgence, laziness, gambling, and a sense of aimlessness. The speaker implies that the only two outcomes of such an existence are either a constant state of excitement or a pervasive irritability, suggesting the lack of balance and meaningfulness in this kind of lifestyle.

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