Good SETTING OUT, & FITTING IN

Lettering— Ruling.—The approximate sizes of margins and

Some letters, and the number of lines of text, having been
Methods of estimated, guiding lines are ruled on the surface (see
Construction p. 307)—a right and a left vertical marginal line,
& Arrange- with the necessary number of horizontals between
ment them. (In the case of a manuscript, these lines are
ruled faintly (or grooved), and are left to form a
feature of the page ; for inscriptions on other mate¬
rials than paper, parchment, &c., they are generally
removed after setting-out.)

Setting-out.—An inscription of any size, or one
requiring complex or very nice arrangement, is set-
out in faint, sketchy outline of lead pencil or chalk.
Simple writing is not set-out, but such slight calcu¬
lation or planning as is necessary is carried out
mentally, or on a scrap of paper. By practice the
scribe, like the compositor, can fit his lettering to
the given space with ease and accuracy. For writing
and (to a large extent) printing, both combine setting-
out and the act of “lettering” in one operation. And
this shows how practice gives foreknowledge of the
“mechanical” part of the work, leaving the mind
free to take pleasure in its performance; and also
how slight—if necessary at all—is the experimental
setting-out of simple forms required by the practised
workman.

Dividing Monosyllables.—In simple writing—the
beauty of which depends on freedom rather than on
precision—I think that even such an awkward word
as “through” should not be broken. If the space
at the end of a line is insufficient, it should be left
blank, or be filled in with a dash of the pen. But
in the case of words in LARGE CAPITALS,
especially in title-pages and the like, where spacing
222

is more difficult, and smooth reading less essential,
any word may be divided at any point if the neces¬
sity is sufficiently obvious. But (even when the
division is syllabic) breaking words, as interfering

AVOI Ding

breaking worein

bywrttm^SnuUer.

MONOG RAMTAT1 Cf

treatmeìTìf Tie

SPACE DEMANDS ITA,

LG0ï5:&

WSbT feTTERS:&TXLL:l

Fig. 153.

with the ease of reading, may often be avoided
with advantage, and divisions which give accidental
words, especially when they are objectionable, as

223

Good
Lettering—
Some
Methods of
Construction
& Arrange¬
ment