name of a vegetable or a profession.

Not wishing to be outdone in frankness, I disclosed to him that my name
was Tom Bailey, upon which he said he was very glad to hear it.

When we got more intimate, I discovered that Sailor Ben, as he wished
me to call him, was a perfect walking picturebook. He had two anchors, a
star, and a frigate in full sail on his right arm; a pair of lovely blue
hands clasped on his breast, and I've no doubt that other parts of his
body were illustrated in the same agreeable manner. I imagine he was
fond of drawings, and took this means of gratifying his artistic taste.
It was certainly very ingenious and convenient. A portfolio might
be misplaced, or dropped overboard; but Sailor Ben had his pictures
wherever he went, just as that eminent person in the poem,

"With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes"--was accompanied by
music on all occasions.

The two bands on his breast, he informed me, were a tribute to the
memory of a dead messmate from whom he had parted years ago--and surely a
more touching tribute was never engraved on a tombstone. This caused me
to think of my parting with old Aunt Chloe, and I told him I should take
it as a great favor indeed if he would paint a pink hand and a black
hand on my chest. He said the colors were pricked into the skin with
needles, and that the operation was somewhat painful. I assured him, in
an off-hand manner, that I didn't mind pain, and begged him to set to
work at once.

The simple-hearted fellow, who was probably not a little vain of his
skill, took me into the forecastle, and was on the point of complying