Part 2

The chapter heading should be uniform in style with the text, but written larger if the heading is brief. If the text is a somewhat formal hand the heading may be in caps. Script caps and Old English caps should never be used for entire words except under extraordinary conditions.

“When the chapter heading is long and will not readily come into one line, make two lines of it, the first one less than the full measure and the over-run a shorter line in the center below it. To make the first line full, in this case, and to put in the second line one word or syllable only, is not good arrangement. Two short lines, properly spaced, are more pleasing, as well as more legible, than one line crowded at the ends.”[I]

=Seventh, Write the Text=

_Chapter I_--This chapter, Longfellow’s Life, may be written from an outline worked out by the class and placed on the blackboard as a guide to each individual pupil. The traditional topics may be included:

His parentage. Place and date of birth. Boyhood. Education. Manhood. Work. Honors. Date and place of death. Present standing as a poet.

While the outline will be the same for all, the text will vary, or should vary, according to the individuality of the pupils. The teacher should not force even children to occupy a Procrustean bed. The charm in children’s work lies in its freshness, its independence, its lack of deference to traditionalism. On the other hand, the teacher’s business is guidance. The children should be led to recognize good form. Slang should be avoided. A certain precision is necessary in written words, where quality of voice, expression of countenance and gesture cannot assist in making clear the intention of language.[J] To secure good English without destroying originality--but that is another story.

The children should write their essays on scrap paper, keeping in mind the space allotted to the chapter in the dummy. Of course the dummy is not final. A new folio may be added at any time, or a folio may be removed. But the pupil must remember that a folio means four pages. The adaptation of text to space is another good opportunity for self-discipline in English.

_Chapter II_--This will consist of a list of titles, with a suitable introductory paragraph and, perhaps, a final paragraph of comment. The list should be worked out by the children. What poems have they learned? What poems do their parents know? What poems are most frequently quoted, or referred to in conversation, in books, etc.?[K] Why are such poems popular? Is the poet still waxing or waning in popularity? The substance of this chapter will be the same in all the booklets.

_Chapter III_--Here individuality blossoms! No two of these chapters will be alike. Each pupil is to reveal himself, speak his own mind, in his own way. The teacher must here keep in the background until the pupils have arrived at an honest expression of their own preferences. Then what the teacher has written about her own favorite selection may be read to the school as a suggestion, to give the children some idea of how to proceed in the writing of this third chapter. Here is my third chapter:

Of all the poems of Longfellow I enjoy most that part of the “Tales of a Wayside Inn” known as “The Saga of King Olaf.”

When I was a little boy my mother used to recite to me long passages from “Hiawatha.” I liked that poem best then, but that was before I could read for myself. Later I liked to read about the “Courtship of Miles Standish”--but now I like the Olaf Saga best. Perhaps it is because I was born within sight of the Atlantic, and love

the ocean’s dirges, When the old harper heaves and rocks His hoary locks, Flowing and flashing in the surges.

I have seen “the red light in the sky” and watched the north when the rifted streamers o’er me shook and shifted. I have seen

Eyvind Kallda’s crew, Of warlocks blue, With their caps of darkness hooded.

And I have watched the morning when

Athwart the vapors dun The Easter sun Streamed with one broad track of splendor.

Perhaps I love it because so many of my ancestors were soldiers or sailors or ship builders in northern Europe or in America. Perhaps it is because of the story itself and the way it ends. Perhaps it is because of the appropriate variety in the rhythms of the different sections, so expressive of the occasion in each case. Perhaps I cannot tell why.

Anyhow, I like the bold defiance in the Challenge of Thor, the swing of rollers at sea in King Olaf’s Return, the creepy repetition in The Wraith of Odin, the hurry and the lingering in Gudrun, the jolly swing in Thangbrand the Priest. I might go on in this way through the entire series, mentioning the clash and rattle in the fight at sea, and the beautiful dignity of the musical voice that speaks to Astrid the Abbess, but I want to mention other reasons why I like the Saga.

I like it because it is full of such vivid pictures. When I read I am right there sailing and fighting and feasting with the king and his men.

I like some of the people I meet, and admire almost all of them. Queen Sigrid is a _queen_! Old Iron-Beard is splendid. Raud the Strong is an “Old Roman,” game to the end! Thorberg Skafting is a true craftsman. Einar Tamberskelver is a brilliant hero, and Kolbiorn as faithful a friend as ever lived and died.

But I think some parts of these poems are as perfect poetry as I ever read. Is there anywhere in four lines a more beautiful description of moonlight than this?

On King Olaf’s bridal night Shines the moon with tender light, And across the chamber streams Its tide of dreams.

Where are there better pictures in a few musical lines than these?

Short of stature, large of limb, Burly face and russet beard, All the women stared at him When in Iceland he appeared. “Look,” they said, With nodding head, “There goes Thangbrand, Olaf’s priest.”

When they landed from the fleet, How they roared through Drontheim’s street, Boisterous as the gale! How they laughed and stamped and pounded Till the tavern roof resounded And the host looked on astounded As they drank the ale!

In the convent of Drontheim, Alone in her chamber, Knelt Astrid the Abbess, At midnight, adoring, Beseeching, entreating, The Virgin and Mother.

Then, think of this as a description of ships putting out to sea:

On the gray sea sands King Olaf stands, Northward and seaward He points with his hands.

With eddy and whirl The sea tides curl, Washing the sandals Of Sigvald the Earl.

The mariners shout, The ships swing about, The yards are all hoisted, The sails flutter out.

The war horns are played, The anchors are weighed, Like moths in the distance The sails flit and fade.

The sea is like lead, The harbor lies dead, As a corse on the seashore Whose spirit has fled!

On that fatal day, The histories say, Seventy vessels Sailed out of the bay.

This simple rhythm is capable of great variety of expression--meditation, weird movement, hurry and bustle, solitude, sadness, despair. It is wonderful.

There are other reasons why I like the Olaf Saga, but these are all I care to tell.

Having read this to the children, not only to illustrate the kind of a chapter required, but to inspire them to do their enthusiastic best, wait for results. Meanwhile, push ahead with the design.

=Eighth, Complete the Design=

We have now reached the point where individuality may reveal itself in form and color. We want our booklets to be works of fine art--_each one_ a work of fine art, reflecting the thought and feeling and exhibiting the skill of the artist-craftsman who produced it.

The key to success is to be found in Hegel’s definition: “A work of fine art is the free and adequate embodiment of the Idea, in a form peculiarly appropriate to the Idea itself.” By Idea Hegel means what we mean when we say: “What is your _idea_ in doing that?” Idea includes thought, purpose, reason, aim, intention, motive, principle, and the like. The _idea_ is the soul of the thing, the spirit of which the outward act, form, thing, is the manifestation or embodiment. A concrete illustration will make this thought clearer. Here is my Longfellow booklet. It must reflect in every detail _my_ thought and feeling about _Longfellow_.

I find in the poet a note of sadness. “Hiawatha” has it--he sails into the sunset; the Indian era has come to an end; it will never return. Miles Standish lost his Priscilla. The Village Blacksmith’s wife was in heaven. Turning rapidly the pages of my Longfellow I read titles and first and last lines, all striking the same note: “I wish that I was dead”; “It is not always May”; “The day is cold and dark and dreary”; “There in the twilight cold and gray, lifeless and beautiful he lay”; “The twilight is sad and cloudy”; “And like a dream, in the Gulf Stream sinking, vanish all away”; “There is no flock, however watched and tended, but one dead lamb is there”; “Black shadows fall from the lindens tall”; “My Lost Youth”; “In the Churchyard at Cambridge”; “Weariness”--O, there are so many of them! The Old Clock on the Stairs ticks in every poem! Even my King Olaf failed.

The young grew old and gray, But never, by night or by day, In his kingdom of Norroway, Was King Olaf seen again!

And Evangeline? Pitifully sad. Here, then, is a part of the _idea_ to be embodied in my booklet. I have already expressed in words another part of it, namely, my preference for the Olaf Saga. Moreover, Longfellow seems to me a man of the kindliest, most benevolent, sweet spirit, cultivated and lovable. How can I embody all this, my Idea, in the make-up of my booklet?

Three opportunities present themselves--first, color; second, decoration; third, technique.

_Color_--In all ages, in all the arts making use of color--painting, decoration, costume, jewelry and (in language) literature--color has been used not only for its own sake but for its symbolism. Colors have taken on meaning. “They are manifest signs to those who think,” said Mohammed. Here is a concise statement of the almost universal symbolism of color:

MEANING OF THE PRINCIPAL COLORS AND THEIR APPROPRIATE USES

RED, _the symbol of_ Blood Love--Passion Valor, Patriotism Christ

ORANGE, _the symbol of_ Fire Marriage--the Home Hospitality Benevolence Earthly Wisdom Holy Spirit

YELLOW, _the symbol of_ Sun--Gold Supreme Wisdom Divinity

GREEN, _the symbol of_ Vegetation Life--Immortality Fruitfulness Prosperity Hope

BLUE, _the symbol of_ Truth Constancy Justice God the Father

PURPLE, _the symbol of_ Royalty Love of Truth Loyalty Martyrdom Mourning

WHITE, _the symbol of_ Purity Perfection Innocence

GRAY and BROWN, _the symbol of_ Barrenness Renunciation Unfruitfulness Penitence

BLACK, _the symbol of_ Night--Despair--Evil--Sin--Death

Glancing over this table with my Idea in mind, I conclude that orange best expresses my feeling about Longfellow, especially when I remember that orange, dulled, becomes brown, symbol of the “renunciation” and “unfruitfulness” so often dominant in his poems. The cover of my booklet shall be brown, and whatever I place upon it shall be in orange and black. This will not only express my idea but be a pleasing combination of color--another important element. Longfellow’s character could not be suggested in violent and brilliant contrasts of loud colors!

_Decoration_--Inasmuch as Longfellow means to me, first, the Olaf Saga, my decoration shall be Celtic. There seems to be a peculiar appropriateness in using the Celtic interlaced ornament, for its intricate convolutions, weaves, and knots are said to symbolize the mysterious ways of Providence and his unity of purpose in everything. Longfellow held that faith, although he saw the darker side of the shield.

_Technique_--Longfellow was a gentleman and a scholar. He respected all the fine conventionalities of life, he upheld the best traditions in thought and speech. What a contrast between his art and that of Walt Whitman! For a Whitman booklet I might use a paper strong and rough in texture, and print the title in green ink! My cover design might be as unconventional as a granite boulder, and my technique as bold as the signature of John Hancock! But for Longfellow my technique must be restrained, temperate, orderly, conventional, refined.

The cover is the “advance agent.” It should win at sight; it should arouse interest in the contents of the book, and suggest its character; it should fittingly protect and recommend the contents, as a frame protects a picture and enhances all its good qualities.

_Arrangement._--The problem now is the arrangement of the material for the cover. However it is arranged, the page must be (1) legible and (2) pleasing to the eye.

1. Legibility. This means that only easily recognizable letters be used for the title and author’s name. “When in doubt use Roman” is good advice. The style of lettering chosen should echo in some way the style of the text within. If the booklet is to be written freely, in ordinary hand, a free Roman letter, such as Mr. Hall has used in Plate X, is appropriate for the title-page. If the hand is to be more formal, such, for example, as that shown in Plate XI, the title-page should be drawn in such a style as that exhibited in the heading of the plate. In short, what is said about ornamental initials and their relation to the text, on page 36, applies in a general way to the title-page. The title-page may, however, be a little further removed from the text, a little more formal in character than the initial, because it is not so directly associated with the text. Then, too, the title-page is like the outside front door. It first meets the stranger. The introduction demands certain formalities. Once within the house greater freedom may be granted.

Legibility means also freedom from entangling alliances. Text should be text with ample space for itself, and ornament should be ornament within its own field. The two should never quarrel, should never be snarled up together, should never wrestle with each other or compete for first place.

2. Pleasing Appearance. Pleasing appearance in a cover design means four things: (_a_) The design as a whole must appeal first to the eye. (_b_) Among the parts of this whole the title should stand first in importance. (_c_) All the parts should have an orderly relation to each other and to the whole in size and position. (_d_) This orderly relation involves balance.

Balance means the distribution of attractions with reference to some center. Lines, spots, areas, contrasts, colors all constitute attractions for the eye. These must be so distributed that they balance on the vertical axis of the page, and upon a point in that axis slightly above its geometric center.

Plate II shows the covers of six school reports. The bad ones are in the upper row.

The first does not present itself as a whole. The seal has the first word. The cover below is better in design.

The second has unfortunately four styles of type in three lines (!) where one style would have been enough. The type mass is too low on the page. The cover below it is better.

The third repeats the defect of the first in its seal. Moreover, it is unbalanced. The seal is on the vertical axis, but the type mass is not. If the upper mass is at the left of the central axis, the lower must be at the right. The cover below this is better.

Plate III shows three covers having the Unity, Principality, Order and Balance which characterize pleasing appearance.

The first, unusually free in its handling, is a cover by Mr. James Hall. The second, a little more formal, is by Mr. F. W. Goudy, of New York, one of the best of typographic designers. The third, most formal of all, was composed from type and “stock ornaments” under the direction of Mr. A. A. Stewart, principal of the North End School of Printing, Boston.

But the arrangement of pages shown in Plate III, practically the same in all, is not the only possible arrangement. Plate IV gives nine others. All these illustrate, in one way or another, the application of the most important single law we have for the determining of proportions, namely, the law of the Greek ratio. Briefly stated, it is this: A line or measure is pleasingly subdivided when one part is more than a half and less than two-thirds the length of the other. It is illustrated herewith. In Plate IV this ratio controls the measures of all the principal subdivisions, comparable lines and margins.

When the type mass is small, as in 1, the outer rectangle needs to be reinforced, if only by a line parallel to the edge. The same is true when the type masses are freely balanced, as in 6. When a single area is broken up into two or more parts, the parts should be bound together by a circumscribing line, as in 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9. With two evidently independent areas such a line is not required. In 5 the attraction of the large undivided blank area at the lower right is sufficient to balance the small, cut-up area at the upper left.

In subdividing areas regular sequence in position of the various measures should be avoided, for it initiates a movement of the eye in one direction, following the sequence, and disturbs the balance of the whole.

In designing the cover, the scheme finally determined upon should be such as seems best, considering the number of elements to be incorporated. For the Longfellow booklet I decided to use a rather broad Celtic border, therefore none of the nine plans given in Plate IV will do. I must revert to the plan which underlies the covers in Plate III.

_Lettering_--The selection of an appropriate style of letter is but a preliminary. The drawing of the individual letters in proper relation to each other and to the whole is the chief task, and not an easy one. It is well first to draw on a slip of paper the exact area to be filled with the lettering, and to subdivide it by means of light horizontal lines to indicate the number of lines of lettering required, the spaces between the lines, and the approximate height of each line of letters. Upon this slip trial sketches should be made, in pencil, first roughly sketched, then brought into shape and refined. In good lettering the whole makes its appeal as a mass first. This breaks up into lines, the lines into words, and last of all the words into individual letters. The letters should not attract attention to themselves first, either by their erratic character or by their spacing. Plate V shows the evolution of a line of lettering. Sketched roughly with a single pencil line the first time it fell short. The second time it overran. “The third time never fails.” (It does, sometimes, in lettering!) When the spacing seems about right in single strokes, try it again in pencil, with the double strokes to indicate the thickness of the different parts of the letters, and to perfect the spacing. The letters should _look_ equably spaced. There is no mechanical rule for such spacing. Only intelligent practice makes perfect. When the line is satisfactorily drawn in pencil on the slip of paper the line is ready to be transferred, by tracing or by copying, to the cover of the booklet, and drawn in ink or water color.

Having arrived at a clear perception of just how my Idea is to be embodied, and having completed the design for my booklet, I am ready to lead the children to do the same thing for themselves, and then to take the next step.

=Ninth, Make the Booklet=

With the dummy as guide, the making of the booklet is now an open road.

1. _Get out the stock._ This means the selection of the paper and the cutting of it to the proper size. A smooth, unruled paper of good weight, but not too thick, is best if the booklet is to be done in pen-and-ink, as it should be. The color should be white. In this particular case, my own booklet, I would secure if possible a _cream_ white, to harmonize more closely with my orange scheme of color. Cut the folio sheets to exactly the right size. Cut one or two extra for use in case of need.

2. _Lay out the pages._ The folios would better be kept flat until the booklet is ready for binding. The place of the fold should be indicated by a pencil line, and the pages should be numbered, very delicately (to be erased later) in pencil, to correspond to the pages of the dummy. Indicate by carefully ruled light lines the widths of all margins throughout the booklet, and the positions of all illustrations. Be sure to allow for proper space between illustrations “in the text” and the text itself. The lines of writing should not bump into the pictures! Study good models--the best school books the children have--to make clear the necessity of proper spacing. Plates VI, VII and VIII give three typical illustrated pages. Plate VI is a portrait of Longfellow, occupying an entire page. The original print[L] was so large that no room was left within the margin lines for even a name. Of course, I might have omitted the margin lines and added the name beneath the portrait, but I concluded to refer to the picture in the text. Everybody knows Longfellow! Plate VII shows how to place two small prints on a page. A page should look balanced and orderly in arrangement. This plate shows also the thoughtful ruling of the page to receive the text. This text is to be “run around” the illustrations, leaving proper spaces between the pictures and the lines of writing. Notice that the lines top and bottom are so placed that when written upon the text will seem to fill the measure of the page. The “ascenders” of the capitals and other tall letters will come to the top margin line; the “descenders” of the small letters to the bottom margin line. Plate VIII shows a picture clipped from an old _Harper’s Magazine_, with an appropriate quotation below to properly fill the space.

If ornamental initials are to be used the proper spaces should be left for them in the dummy.