the pen letterer. In type, for instance, it would be
impossible, for mechanical reasons, to allow the kerns of the f, j and y to
project far over the body of the next letter, and in these letters the
kerns consequently have either to be restrained or the letters spaced
farther apart. In pen lettering, however, the designer is not restrained by
such limitations, and his spacing of letters should be governed solely by
the effect.

The disposition of the accented lines in the small letters follow the same
general rules that govern those of the capitals (see page 2); the only
deviation being in the case of [57] the g, in which the shading of the
bottom seems to have been determined largely by the effect upon the eye.

It will be noticed in the diagram that the "ascenders" of the smaller
letters rise about three squares to their extreme top points above the body
of the letter; that the body of each letter is inclosed in a square that is
three units high, and that the "descenders" fall but two squares below the
letter body. These proportions are not by any means invariable, however,
and indeed there is no fixed rule by which the proportions of ascenders and
descenders to the body of the Roman minuscule may be determined. In some
forms of the letter both are of the same length, and sometimes that length
is the same as the body height of the letter. In general a better result is
obtained by making both ascenders and descenders of less than the length of
the body, and keeping the descenders shorter than the ascenders in about
the proportion of two-fifths to three-fifths.

Parallel lines of small letters cannot be spaced closer to each other than
the ascenders and descenders will allow; the projections above and below
the line are awkward, and interrupt the definite lines of demarkation at
the top and bottom of the letter-bodies; the capitals necessarily used in
connection with the small letters add to the irregularity of the line--all
of which reasons combine to limit the employment of minuscule for formal or
monumental uses. On the other hand, the small letter form is excellently
adapted for the printed page, where the occasional capitals but tend to
break the monotony, while the ascenders and descenders strongly
characterize and increase the legibility of the letter forms.

[Illustration: 52. SPANISH ROMAN LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]

[Illustration: 53. SPANISH ROMAN LETTERS. PEN DRAWN. FRANCISCO LUCAS, 1577]