Many of the foregoing rules must be held subject to the
exigencies of proper spacing. A rigid adherence, for example, to the rule
that not more than two consecutive lines should end with divided words will
not justify a badly spaced, unsightly line. There are many things that look
worse than a hyphen at the end of the last full line in a paragraph.
Avoidance of dividing the last word on a page, however, would justify even
bad spacing, because of the gain to the reader. In the last resort, the
interests of the reader must always have first consideration.
Division is greatly affected by the length of the measure. A long measure,
18 or 20 ems or more, gives greater opportunity for arranging the spacing,
but, on the other hand, makes division on short syllables conspicuous and
out of proportion. Very short register, as in two-column Bibles or in cases
where illustrations are inserted in the text, presents very great
difficulties and often calls for division which would not be allowable
elsewhere. Such cases often call for the exercise of the greatest care and
ingenuity.
It often happens that the author can be of great assistance to the printer
in making a handsome page. A change of a phrase, or even of a word will
avoid a difficulty which cannot be avoided by a printer except at the cost
of bad division or bad spacing. If the author is a sensible person he will
gladly cooperate with the printer in giving his thoughts clothing
appropriate to their intrinsic beauty and value.
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