It has been
remarked that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more
pleasing and natural to the eye of a European than his own colour.
A white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian was like a plant
bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one
growing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are
tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so
gracefully that they have a very elegant effect. One common
pattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a
palm-tree. It springs from the central line of the back, and
gracefully curls round both sides. The simile may be a fanciful
one, but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the
trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper.
Many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures,
so placed as to resemble a sock. This fashion, however, is partly
gone by, and has been succeeded by others. Here, although fashion
is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in
his youth. An old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his
body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. The women are
tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their
fingers.
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