The “Bilder Bibel,” then publishing in Germany, suggested to Mr. Knight his “Pictorial Bible;” and Kitto, after having tested his own fitness for the work thoroughly, boldly undertook to execute the whole task, giving up, of course, all other work, and receiving £250 a year during the progress of the book, and on completion such a sum of money as seemed a small fortune. This completed--and it was one of the most remunerative works upon which Mr. Knight was ever engaged--he commenced his “Palestine,” and in such subjects Kitto found at last his true vocation. The “Pictorial History” occupied seven years in coming out, in parts, of course. Mr. Craik wrote the social, religious, and commercial portions, and Mr. C. Macfarlane undertook the larger department of civil and military history; many other gentlemen also contributed. The same fault occurred here as in the “Penny Encyclopædia”--it was too long for serial publication. By an error of judgment on the part of the editors, four of the eight volumes were devoted to the reign of George III.; the subscribers became weary, and the project turned out to be a commercial failure. This was followed in 1843 by the “Illustrated London,” certainly the best and most trustworthy history we yet have _in extenso_ of the great metropolis. The issue of the “weekly volumes” was also in progress, commencing with a “Life of Caxton,” by Mr. Knight himself; but the series soon became the “shilling volumes.” The _Penny Magazine_ terminated on the 27th Dec., 1845, and its continuation, _Knight’s Penny Magazine_, proving but barely remunerative, the hint was taken, Mr. Knight declaring that it should never be said of him, “Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage.” The “Penny Encyclopædia” terminated in December, 1843, and though a ruinous loss to Mr. Charles Knight, was at the same time, as regards the general public, perhaps the greatest publishing triumph that had yet been accomplished. The banquet given in his honour by the contributors was, Mr. Knight tells us, the proudest moment in his life, and was certainly a tribute as well earned as it was unique.