Italic was largely employed to distinguish such parts of a book as might be considered appendages, as _Prefaces_, _Introductions_, _Annotations_, &c., all of which were formerly printed in this character; so that perhaps two-fifths of a fount was composed of Italic letter. At present it is used more sparingly, being superseded by the more elegant mode of enclosing extracts within inverted commas, and by setting poetry and annotations in a smaller-sized type. It is very appropriately used to distinguish the head or subject-matter of a chapter, and is serviceable in grammars and other school-books as well as scientific works. The frequent use of Italic words among Roman in ordinary matter impairs the beauty of the page, and ought to be avoided; yet authors sometimes stubbornly insist on the gratification of their whimsies, even at the sacrifice of every principle of correct taste. BLACK LETTER. [Illustration: ~This letter, which was used in the infancy of Printing, descended from the Gothic characters: it is called Gothic by some, and Old English by others; but printers term it Black Letter, on account of its heavy appearance.~] In Germany, the letters in common use are founded on the Gothic character; but even there scientific works are printed in the German language with Roman letters. The Dutch adhere to the black letter in books of devotion and religious treatises; while they make use of the Roman in their curious and learned works. SAXON CHARACTERS. The Saxon characters originated probably from the Gothic, but were altered or modified after the Latin ones which the Saxons found in use in England in the fifth century. The first Saxon types were cut by John Daye, under the patronage of Archbishop Parker, about the year 1567. We give the Lord’s Prayer in modern Anglo-Saxon types: [Illustration: ~Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofenum. Si þin nama gehalgod. Tobecume þin rice. Cepurðe þin pilla on eorþan, spa spa on heofenum. Urne dæghpamlican hlaf gyfe us to dæg. And forgyf us ure gyltas, spa ssa pe forgifað urum gyltendum. And ne gelædde þu ur on costnunge. ac alys us of yfele. So ðlice.~] NAMES AND SIZES OF TYPE. The principal bodies to which printing letters are cast in England and America are the following:— 1. Diamond. 2. Pearl. 3. Agate. 4. Nonpareil. 5. Minion. 6. Brevier. 7. Bourgeois. 8. Long Primer. 9. Small Pica. 10. Pica. 11. English. 12. Columbian. 13. Great Primer. 14. Paragon. 15. Double Small Pica. 16. Double Pica. 17. Double English. 18. Double Great Primer. 19. Double Paragon. 20. Canon.