--- title: "Life in the Red Brigade: London Fire Brigade by R. M. (Robert Michael…" description: "Read a free sample of Life in the Red Brigade: London F... by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online…" canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/life-in-the-red-brigade-london-fire-brigade" --- Literary # Life in the Red Brigade: London Fire Brigade by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $1.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Flife-in-the-red-brigade-london-fire-brigade) Secure payment on Stripe. publica.now never sees your card. Share Link copied Format epub Published May 03, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![Life in the Red Brigade: London Fire Brigade](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqnn5vha4y1sbpkdynwvn92q/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20261019%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261019T114148Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=0f3776eea2b68e8405061102cecbb41eadafeff2c6eb2a98af5c5509c897a3d6) ## About this work Life in the Red Brigade: London Fire Brigade by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne — a public-domain edition published by publica.now. Sample ## Take a look inside R.M. Ballantyne "Life in the Red Brigade" Chapter One. Wet, worn and weary—with water squeaking in his boots, and a mixture of charcoal and water streaking his face to such an extent that, as a comrade asserted, his own mother would not have known him—a stout young man walked smartly one morning through the streets of London towards his own home. He was tall and good-looking, as well as stout, and, although wet and weary, had a spring in his step which proved beyond all question that he was not worn-out. As the comrade above referred to would have said, “there was plenty of go in him still.” His blue and belted coat, sailor’s cap, and small hatchet, with the brass helmet swinging by its chin strap on his left arm, betokened him a member of “The Red Brigade,”—a London fireman—one of those dare-anything characters who appear to hold their lives remarkably cheap, for they carry these lives in their hands, as the saying goes, night and day; who seem to be able to live in smoke as if it were their native element; who face the flames as if their bodies were made of cast iron; and whose apparent delight in fire is such that one is led to suspect they must be all more or less distantly connected with the family of Salamander. The young man’s expression of countenance, as far as it could be discerned through the charcoal and water, was hearty, and his name—Dashwood—was in keeping with his profession. The comrade, whose opinion we have already quoted, was wont to say that he ought to change it to Dashwater, that being his chief occupation in life. We need scarcely say that this comrade was rather fond of his joke. Arrived at a small street, not far… [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Flife-in-the-red-brigade-london-fire-brigade) The sample continues in the full work. [ #classic ](/search?query=classic) [ #public-domain ](/search?query=public-domain) [ #library ](/search?query=library) ## Reviews No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. [Sign in to leave a review](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcreators%2Fvito%2Fworks%2Flife-in-the-red-brigade-london-fire-brigade) No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. 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