"Avoid letting your work appear as though it had been begun in the tenth century, and only completed in the sixteenth, or, as I have once or twice seen, vice versâ."[2]

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.

Capitals with simple curves should not be mixed with those in which the curves become pointed, the styles being distinct.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To trace the capitals: cut out a piece of tracing-paper, an inch or two larger every way than the letter to be copied; rule a line on which to rest the letter, as it will be wanted afterwards; place this over the pattern (with the ruled line close beneath it), and trace every line steadily with the HB. This done, remove the tracing-paper, turn it over (right side downwards), and blacken all the lines with the BB pencil. Now place the letter, right side upwards, on the space you intend it to occupy on the cardboard, letting the ruled line correspond exactly with the lower line ruled on the scroll: this will ensure the capital being quite upright in its proper position. Hold the tracing-paper down firmly with the left hand, never shifting it until the whole letter be completed, and with the F pencil trace (i.e. go over) every line of the copy, pressing firmly, but not so hard as to cut through the thin paper. It may then be withdrawn, and, if correctly done, the letter will be found legibly traced on the cardboard. It is right to finish the outline firmly (but not too dark) with the HB, as clearness is of great importance when you are colouring.

Some initial letters, such as O, T, &c. admit of the insertion of a small photograph of a sacred subject, several of which can now be procured, even at one penny each. Among others may be selected the "Ecce Homo," "The Saviour bearing the Cross," "Blessing little Children," &c.

So little practice is required to draw the small letters correctly, that it is scarcely worth while to attempt tracing them; indeed the difficulty of keeping a large piece of tissue-paper steady interferes greatly with the chances of success. In drawing these letters (with the HB), be careful to make all the stems of equal thickness, and let them be in due proportion, of height and width, to the accompanying capitals. |Distances between Letters and Words.|The letters should be placed as near to each other as is consistent with clearness, and about half an inch may be left between each word: let these distances be kept uniform throughout the work. Study to draw the letters perfectly straight and upright, to ensure which is the use of the ivory ruler, thus:—

Having sketched in all the small letters as well as possible, turn the strip of cardboard with its end towards you, and I fear you will be shocked to see how many of the letters are out of the perpendicular. If, however, they have not been too heavily drawn, they may now be readily corrected by the little ruler, keeping the scroll still in the same position. The advantage of this method is, that a line which, to an unpractised eye, will appear quite perpendicular, when turned into a horizontal position instantly betrays its deviations. It may be objected that the use of a ruler encourages idle and careless habits, but this is only the case when it is employed to draw by, and not, as it should be, only for correction.

The ornamental stop—or perhaps a Greek cross—and any other intended additions, should be traced now. When the hand and eye are a little practised, sprays of trefoil and similar decorations will look more natural and easy, if drawn freshly upon the scroll. Triplets of leaves and berries have a graceful and suitable effect, and these, in illuminations, may be drawn conventionally, rather than naturally. A clever writer[6] says, "Rigidly avoid contrasting natural with conventional foliage. Adopt which you like, for by either beautiful effects may be produced; but mix them, and the charm of both is gone. Natural foliage may be successfully combined with any other varieties of conventional ornament, excepting those based upon natural foliage."

The Vine Passion-flower, Ivy, or any trefoils, have a beautiful effect, if gracefully twined about, or drooping from the initial letter.

The introduction of small photographs (of sacred subjects) either into the initial letter, or placed before it, with a simple border in gold, edged with blue, has often a beautiful significance and effect. Care should,