In a short time he was removed to the London Missionary Society, whence he went to Malta as a printer.
Here he studied very closely, and, after returning to London, accompanied Mr. Groves in a tour through Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kurdistan and Persia.
During this tour he gathered a vast amount of information relative to Eastern manners and customs, which rendered him one of the most instructive and interesting writers in the world.
He published, as the fruit of his arduous toil during this journey, quite a number of books, which have been greatly sought after both in Europe and America, and have made him a welcome guest at thousands of happy firesides.
His toilsome and unceasing labors for the cause of truth and religion were too severe for so feeble a frame, and at an early age, not fifty years old, John Kitto—the deaf shoemaker of Plymouth—gently fell asleep in the arms of his Saviour—beloved and respected by all who knew him, and honored by those who had become familiar with him from his deeply interesting and invaluable productions.
In speaking of Kitto, a clergyman of considerable distinction uses the following beautiful language:—
“Rarely have we read a more touching record of heroic struggle than the toilsome ascent of the deaf boy of Plymouth to the lofty position of the world-famed Editor of the Biblical Encyclopædia, the Pictorial Bible, the Daily Bible Illustrations. He reached, through incredible difficulties, a position that few attain under the most favorable circumstances, and has left behind him nearly fifty volumes, some of which take high rank as works of critical authority. Truly the heroic ages have not yet ceased, and there is a heroism of the solitary student that is a nobler thing than that of the warrior on the field of battle; and such heroism is seen in the life of Kitto.”
My young friends, how touchingly beautiful and highly instructive is the brief but brilliant life of John Kitto! Do not
“Lives of such men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,