The 1948 movie version of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" (1720 – 1788) staring David Niven is virtually all fiction. However, the historical facts are of interest at least in regard to the quality of loyalty. Charles Edward Stuart, known as "the young pretender" and "bonnie prince Charlie" was an exiled claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland living in Italy. He was the grandson of King James II who had been deposed in the revolution of 1688 and was living in exile in Rome where his father had been given a residence by Pope Clement XI. In 1743, Charles raised funds to fit man of war ships and with the hope of French support, planned an invasion of England. Bad weather and the appearance of a powerful British fleet led to the cancellation of the plan. Instead, he arrived in Scotland in 1745 where a number of the Highland clans backed him even though they knew it was most likely an act of suicide for them to do so. They defeated the British in Edinburgh, and advanced into England, but were forced to retreat. His army were routed and he became a hunted fugitive for over five months. A reward of $30,000 pounds, a fortune in those days, was offered for information leading to his capture. Nearly everyone who assisted him to avoid capture ended up being put in prison or executed, but no Scotsman ever betrayed him with information about his whereabouts. He escaped to France, was expelled from there, moved around Europe and then returned to Italy where he died.

The part of this history, which William Barclay writes about, that appeals to me, deals with his finding refuge during the time he was being hunted, with eight men of Glenmoriston. These men were all outlaws and criminals who didn’t have a shilling among them. They, like everyone else in Scotland, knew about the reward, but for weeks they hid him and kept him safe. Not one of them ever attempted to collect the reward. Not only that, one of these men, Hugh Chisholm, later would proudly tell everyone how they hid Bonnie Prince Charlie. For the rest of his life he would only shake hands with his left hand, because, he explained, when Charles left them, he had shook hands with each of them and Hugh had sworn he would never again "give any man the hand he had given to his prince." whether true or anecdotal, it is a lovely, inspiring story about the quality of loyalty.