[Sidenote: Legibility essential.] But although rules of style, date, and country, are important, they should never, in my opinion, be carried out so rigidly as to make our work either fantastic or illegible--two very serious blemishes. Indeed, if we sacrifice to strict chronological order all possibility of reading the letters without an interpreter, our labour, as far as others are concerned, is worse than useless, tending to bring the whole art into disrepute. [Sidenote: Important Distinction.] Capitals with simple curves should not be mixed with those in which the curves become pointed, the styles being distinct. [Sidenote: Best Styles.] The styles which prevailed from the 11th to the 14th century are considered the best, the later ones in particular. After that date the art of illuminating gradually decayed. [Sidenote: First Sketch on Tissue-paper.] In proceeding to draw the outline of a text, it is a most useful practice to sketch it out roughly on tissue-paper, in order to ascertain what space it will occupy. This plan will prevent much disappointment (and rubbing out, which should be carefully avoided), as, even after long practice, we are often mistaken in the supposed length of a printed sentence: nothing can look worse than one-half of the letters spread widely over the scroll, and the rest crowded together, to make up for the room wasted at the beginning. [Sidenote: Rules for Drawing the Outline.] Having decided on the size of the initial[3] and capital letters, allow a sufficient space above and below them, and cut out the strip of cardboard by a ruled line, measured accurately at each end, so that the width throughout shall be equal.[4] The spaces left above and below the _capitals_ may be equal (if for one line only), but rather less below than otherwise; 1½ to 2 inches[5] is a fair proportion. In ruling for two lines of letters, be careful to leave sufficient room between them, or the y's and g's of the upper line may interfere with the d's and h's of the lower, as also with the capitals. [3] The initial letter is often _much_ larger than the other capitals. [4] Various forms of scroll will be alluded to in speaking of "Borders," omitted here for the sake of clearness. [5] These and similar measurements are given, as being in proportion to the small alphabet and capitals subjoined. Now, with the HB, rule two lines for the small letters, as _lightly_ as possible, consistently with clearness, as these are afterwards to be rubbed out. There is no occasion to draw an upper line for the capitals, as they should be traced in: unless the hand be a very practised one, this method is necessary, to avoid much disfigurement of the cardboard from corrections.