12 COMMON SENSE 
home accommodation; the number of those who wanted dwellings 
seemed to be constantly increasing, and consequently there seemed 
to be absolutely no reason why prices should ever fall. Not only 
were private individuals lending liberally on bond and mortgage se- 
cured by real estate, but those professional experts who are retained 
by vast monied corporations—insurance companies, savings banks 
and the like—were investing the capital of their principals in these 
securities, City property always commanded liberal loans, and farms 
in good condition were considered very desirable security. And on 
what is known as suburban real estate loans to a large proportion 
of their value could be obtained. When, therefore, my friend 
Brown applied to me for a loan on his new house and grounds, I 
had no hesitation in entertaining his proposal. He had _ paid 
$1,500 for eleven acres of land, and had spent $8,000 more in 
building a substantial and comfortable house upon it, and, in im- 
proving the grounds, When, therefore, he applied to me fora loan of 
$3,500, I regarded it as a very fortunate occurrence for me, and after 
the necessary formalities and searches had been made, I gave him 
my check, took the bond and mortgage, and had the latter recorded. 
Brown was a Scotchman of more than usual intelligence and 
energy ; he was in a good business, and as his family was growing 
up he decided to own a place in the country. He had bought a 
somewhat wild piece of land near a large country town, but his 
taste, knowledge and skill had transformed it into a marvel of 
beauty, and a source of many comforts. It was situated on a hill- 
side, commanding an extensive and beautiful view, and on the 
northern boundary the land rose in a rather steep and rocky slope, 
the face of which was covered with ferns, while along the top was 
a strip of evergreens which afforded a perfect shelter from the 
northern blasts. This rocky and ferny shelter had struck Brown’s 
eye from the first, and decided him in choosing, or perhaps I should 
rather say in making, a name for his place. He called it Fernie- 
bield, which he told me signified in Scotch ferny shelter, and well 
did it describe the locality. The name always seemed to me quite 
a poetical one as well as an uncommon one, and many a pleasant 
hour did I spend there enjoying the romantic walks and splendid 
