This edited article about Scotland first appeared in Look and Learn issue number 521 published on 8 January 1972.

Bonnie Prince Charlie bids farewell to his saviour, Flora Macdonald by Pat Nicolle

The great tract of moorland known as Culloden Moor was silent now. The guns that had belched fire and destruction stood abandoned and a thousand Scottish dead lay among the litter of a battle that had ended in the defeat of 7,000 Highlanders at the hands of the British.

It was the day of April 16, 1746, and Edward Charles, the Young Pretender, had just seen the dream of occupying the throne of his fathers vanish in the smoke of battle.

Fleeing for his life, the Young Pretender had little time to think back on those glorious preceding months when he had captured Perth, Edinburgh. All he was conscious of now was that he was a fugitive with a price of £25,000 on his head, and that somehow he must get back to France, from where he had sailed so full of high hopes, less than a year ago.

As he fled into the mists, he was sure only of one thing. Whatever happened, the clansmen would support and hide him when necessary.

The news of the disaster at Culloden spread swiftly, and eventually it reached the Hebridean island of Benbecula, where a young Highland girl, Flora Macdonald, was staying with relatives. Soon afterwards, by one of those strange twists of fate which sometimes change the whole course of history, the Young Pretender arrived on the island with a companion, a Captain O’Neil.

Hearing that Flora was there, and knowing that she was a Jacobite sympathizer, that is, one of the people who wanted the Stuart royal family back on the throne, in place of the German House of Hanover, he went along to see her. Their conversation was short and very much to the point.

“You say, Captain O’Neil, that you wish me to help the Prince to escape to Skye. But how is that possible? No one is allowed to leave Benbecula without special permission.”

“It is proposed that the Prince should disguise himself in woman’s dress. Your step-father is in charge of the militia here. Perhaps it is possible for you to obtain a passport for yourself and an Irish spinning maid, Betty Burke, who will, of course, be the Prince.”

Flora Macdonald thought about it for a few moments. “It is true I could get permission by saying I was going to visit my mother.” She looked into the captain’s anxious face. “I will agree to do it.”

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Titanic sending an SOS message by wireless, 1912.

The Titanic sending an SOS message by wireless, 1912

The second picture shows Sinbad thrown alive into the pits of the dead.

Sinbad is thrown alive into the pits of the dead

The third picture shows a giant television screen in a public square from a series on predictions for the future.

Giant television screen in a public square from a series on predictions for the future.

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

Prester John is an adventure novel by John Buchan set in Victorian Africa at the time of the Zulu Wars. Its hero, a young Scotsman named David Crawfurd, is an early version of his better known protagonist Richard Hannay. The story relates his hairy adventures in South Africa, where a Zulu uprising is for some bizarre reason linked to the mediaeval legend of Prester John, mysterious ruler of a lost kingdom in the East. This spectacular picture portrays Crawfurd’s capture by the Zulus in the grand manner of high Victorian narrative painting, and is most impressive.

Prester John

Many more pictures of novels can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This is a superbly painted picture of the principal characters in The Last of the Mohicans, the popular adventure novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The composition is a montage in which we see the British army officer, Colonel Munro and his fearless daughter Cora, and in the foreground Hawk-eye the frontiersman and Uncas, the eponymous last of the Mohicans and heroic figure for countless schoolboys as well as for Native American Indians.

The Last of the Mohicans, the novel by James Fenimore Cooper

Many more pictures of novels can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Captain William Kidd was one of the most famous and fearsome pirates of the Spanish Main, but he was betrayed by a crew member and charged with piracy by the Crown. In our picture he seems unimpressed by the fact that he is on trial for his life, and disingenuously proclaims his innocence, which clearly astonishes the court who are well acquainted with his notorious reputation.

Captain Kidd solemnly pleaded Not Guilty by Ken Petts

Many more pictures of pirates can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This exotic picture shows Sir Richard Burton, the famous scholar, traveller and Orientalist, in an utterly convincing disguise. While serving in Army Intelligence in India, the daredevil Burton dressed as an Indian and mixed with the natives to uncover any plots and intrigues against the Raj.

Richard Burton in disguise

Many more pictures of India can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Aviation pioneers Alcock and Brown were the first men to fly the Atlantic non-stop, and in doing so claimed the Daily Mail Prize of £10,000 which Lord Northcliffe had put up for a successful challenge. They flew a modified Vickers Vimy bomber which looks like a dangerously rudimentary aircraft in our exciting picture, especially so as the ocean waves seem to reach to its very vulnerable undercarriage.

Alcock and Brown, first men to fly the Atlantic by Neville Dear

Many more pictures of aviation can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This stunning picture shows a scene from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by the French science fiction author, Jules Verne, whose rich imagination is well matched by this particular image of a giant cuttlefish which grabs one of Captain Nemo’s crew with its uncoiled tentacles.

<em>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea</em>

Many more pictures of novels can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

A few of well over a hundred charming and valuable veteran cars cross Westminster Bridge in this amusing picture of the beginning of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run which starts in Hyde Park. This rally is the longest running of all international motoring events and as the picture shows, is a splendid opportunity for proud veteran car enthusiasts to display their prized possessions all the way to Brighton.

The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

Many more pictures of cars can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Paul Boyton are images of the showman’s Channel crossing in a rubber wetsuit, workaday costume of the Fearless Frogman.
The first picture shows a portrait of Boyton in aquatic dress.

The New American Swimming Apparatus, Captain Boyton in his Aquatic Dress

The second picture shows scenes from the Channel crossing.

Captain Boyton's voyage across the Channel

The third picture shows his arrival in Boulogne.

Captain Boyton at Boulogne, Fisher Girls presenting a Bouquet

Many more pictures of swimmers and swimming can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.