His cheek was of a feminine softness, and his face was free from the least blemish of tattooing, although the rest of his body was drawn all over with fanciful figures, which--unlike the unconnected sketching usual among these natives--appeared to have been executed in conformity with some general design.
The tattooing on his back in particular attracted my attention.

The artist employed must indeed have excelled in his profession.

Traced along the course of the spine was accurately delineated the slender, tapering and diamond checkered shaft of the beautiful 'artu' tree.
Branching from the stem on each side, and disposed alternately, were the graceful branches drooping with leaves all correctly drawn and elaborately finished.

Indeed the best specimen of the Fine Arts I had yet seen in Typee.

A rear view of the stranger might have suggested the idea of a spreading vine tacked against a garden wall.