This is the rare first edition of Ballantyne's children's novel, in the original blue publisher's cloth binding with advertisements at the end. It was one of the earliest works Ballantyne had published by the firm James Nisbet of London. Having initially been published by Thomas Nelson and then by Routledge, he moved to Nisbet in 1863 and stayed with them until his death in 1894. The story concerns Frank Wilders a young hero of the London Fire Brigade and his various adventures. This copy was presented by Louisa Gladstone (1837-1885) of Fasque, Scotland, to her brother John Robert Gladstone (1852-1926), the nephew and niece of William Ewart Gladstone. Inscription on title page: "J. R. Gladstone from L.G. Christmas 1867.