Mnrcli 25, 1000.
OMAHA ILLUSTRATED liEE.
Empty Bottles Have
Made Her Fortune
"The ciioney with which I built thoso two
houses wns mado by soiling empty bottlra,"
remarked nn old womttn well known on tho
enst sldo of Now York City. "It wns a Ions
tlmo ago when I first enmo to this country.
I'll tell you nbout it If you don't print my
name.
"Not thnt I object to having my namo
In tho pnpers, but It's my children I hnvo
to think of theso dnys. One Is tho president
of n big bank out west, another owns n
barrel fnctcry In Jersey, while my three
daughters nro nil married and llvo in fine
houses up town. So you see I don't want
old they brought my husband home dead. A
scaffolding had given way.
"Those wcro dark times for me, but 1 hail
my children to look after. All little follows
Just big enough to hold on to my skirts.
They might lmvo tnken tho spirit out of
somo women, but they gave me heart t
work, and I made up my tulml to buy and
sell all tho empty bottles In this town. And
I'll tell you, my denr, I very nearly did It.
I bought a horse and wngon nnd with my
oldest son I visited overy restaurant In (ho
city and took away their bottles and corks.
Some of them chnrged us, but the inn-
CORN-COLORED LACE STRAW
to mnko them nshamed of their old mother's
bragging.
"As I said, it was a long tlmo ngo, for
I'n getting on to SO years of age.
"To begin at tho beginning, my husband
and I sailed from Ireland tho day after wc
wero married. Wo'd hoard fine tales cf
America and wo camo over to make our for
tunes. Wo had but a few pennies when
wo landed nnd besides our bundlo of clothes
and the few cooking things wo'd used on
tho voyage I'd picked up two empty bottles
that some of tho other passengers had
thrown nwny. Wo didn't havo battles to
throw away in tho old country, so It camo
kind of natural to mo not to want to sec
them wasted.
10 III II t - llottlo Illt'll.
"My husband got a Job as a mason and I
got a place as second cook in a restaurant.
It made mo open my eyes tho way they
throw things away In that kitchen. Empty
bottlo3 wore hauled away in cartloads along
with tho rest of tho refuse, until by and by
I got to picking thorn out and taking them
homo nights. I wns only nt that placo six
mouths, but during that ttmo I saved up
something like COO beautiful bottles.
"Then as my husband's work was stoafly
"and tho pay good I camo homo to keep
houso for him and had tlmo to think of my
bottles. It seemed such a shame to throw
thorn away, yet I didn't see what was to bo
dono In a country whore everybody got rid
of them ns soon ns they wero ompty. After
a while I decided to try to Boll them to tho
places from which thoy wcro originally
bought. Mnny wcro wlno bottles, so I went
to a wluo merchant and told him of my lot.
Ho looked nt mo for n whilo thon ho ex
amined my bittlo nnd said If thoy wero all
ns clean as that ho would buy tho lot, but
he'd rather I brought him corks to sell as
corks wero harder to get than bottles.
' "I delivered to htm all tho wlno bottles
I had saved, thon went nround to tho res
taurant to seo my old friend, the ccok. Ho
agreed to save ns many corks nnd bottles
as possible, provided I would tnko thorn off
nvery day. So I used to go overy morning
nnd bring away baskets full. I -washed tho
bottles and boiled the corks nnd onco a
weok delivered them to tho wlno merchant.
Thon I mndo my trip to tho snvlngs bank
whore I stored away my enrnlngs.
KnIliruhiU tliu HiinIiicnn.
"As tlmo passed I becamo moro ambitious
nnd went about to other restaurants and to
other merchants, in that way Increasing my
business. I hired a boy to fetch and carry
for mo and between times when attending to
my children or busy nbout tho houso f
clennod tho bottles nnd corks. This went on
until I had saved up several hundred dollars,
Tho day thnt my youngest girl was 3 weeks
Jority woro only too glad to havo thuni
taken off.
"Then I not only sold to wlno merchants,
but to every dealer whore bottles wero
used. Druggists were good customers when
wo could suit thorn In sizes and many were
willing to send for the bottlOH instead of
having mo enrt them.
A CrmvliiK' I'ordinc.
"Did I only have ono horso! Bless you,
no! I had six when, nice! tho beer nnd other
bottling companies, realizing tho value of
empty bottles, put nn end to my business
by offering to buy their own bottles back
again. Dut It was I who taught them to do
it. I'vo always said If I hadn't begun to
savo nnd soil empty bottles thnt tho street
cleaners of Now York would hnvo twlco ns
much work to do.
"It wasn't harder work than nny other
business. When tho bottles woro brought
In they had to bo cleaned nnd turned to
drain, thon sorted ns to size, color nnd
hnpo. Later they wero packed and deliv
ered. Having been freshly emptied tho
cleaning wns not dllllcult, seldom needing
anything beyond hot soap nnd wntor. My
children soon learned to help nnd nfter
a fow years I turned the mnnagemont of the
horses nnd drivers over to my oldest son.
Thnt Is tho way ho got his business train
ing. "When I gnvo up- tho business I'd nbout
educated nil my children nnd wns paying
taxes on $.15,000 worth of real estate. Since
then New York property has gono up pretty
high nnd now people tell mo my two tone
wont houses nro worth near nbout I-0O.0CO.
Thoy glvo mo a pretty fair living nnd n nice
sum to lay by for my grandchildren. I'm
real sorry tho browcrs hnvo broke up tin!
trade, for tho collection of empty bottles wns
a good business for a woman who hnd n
family of smart children to help hor."
Living Fashion Models
Tho Hco'h living fashion models this
wook nro confined to only two subjects, but
both appropriate to tho rapidly approach
ing spring season, when lighter gannonU
must roplnoo thoso required for winter
wear.
Tho slmplo tea gown for wnrm weather l.s
comiosed of lavender crcpo do chlno nnd
trimmed with rich, full rallies of tea-tinted
lnce. A broad Ivory satin ribbon belts Us
looso folds nnd falls in long onds in front.
Corn-colored laco straw gives tho founda
tion of tho charming Easter hat. It In
dressed with frills of violet chiffon and
threo shades of mnuze tuffetn nnd has one
mammoth cluster of violets nnd foliage on
tho left side.
Tuc Latest Buttons
For New Frocks
Heforo completing arrangements for
spring nnd summer gowns It is well to pay
somo heed to tho new nnd exquisite but
tons being shown by fnshlot.nblo dress
mukcrs nnd nt tho shops. Thoy nro very
decorntlvo and havo qulto regained their
stronghold of favor. Ono of Worth's latest
achievements Is tho placing of six small
buttons on tho gown of n Now Yo.Mt woman,
the vnlue of which was estimated nt $50.
Theso buttons wero very small, luirdly more
than half nn inch in diameter, and were
miniatures representing certain queens und
favorite beauties of France. They wcro set
nbout with very small nnd brilliant rhlno
stones. At present good linltatloviH of those
little gems can bo found at the shops. The
heads nro printed on porcelain Instead of
being painted on ivjry nnd nro usually
placed on lnpels where they nro thrown Into
prominence, or threo of them border ench
sldu of a vest, running In a straight lino
downward from tho neckband.
Tiny satin buttons covered with a net
work suggestive of n spider's web nro used
in great quantities on gowns and nro bought
by the dozens, ranging In ptico from 8 to
11! cents. Tho best effect produced by thorn
Is when they nro worn to docorato the
popular black satin zouave Jac'.tets, nnd In
connection with many rows of tvhlto satin
cord. Often ns many ns lroic llftccn to
twenty dozen nro thus employ 3d to form
largo bunches of grapes.
The beautiful medallions which appeared
In gold nnd silver as bits of Jewelry In the
early winter are now reproduced in buttons.
Somo of the heads thus seen nro exquisite.
LAVENDER ORKl'E DH (MIINE TEA (10 WW.
They are molded In gilt or gun metal, the
latter being appropriate for traveling and
morning wear. A dainty llttlo touch is
given to theso medallions by tho Introduc
tion of rhlnestnnes. Sometimes four of them
will be set In nbout the forehead, repre
senting n band, or ono will nppenr ns a star,
toward which tho head directs its gaze,
t'sunlly tho outline of these buttons Is un
sjmmetrlcnl. Thoy cost from 111) cents to
Sl.M apiece.
Again very largo gilt buttons having a
dull llulsh nro seen, being partly openwork,
tho other portions covered with a robin's
egg blue enamel. They nro very hniidHomo
and will figure upon the whlto albatross
gowns that are being Included In tho sum
mer wnrdrobo of fashionable women. A
touch of color In satin or panne velvet Is
DEDICATION OF MONUMENT TO HEROES OF CIVIL WAH AT COLUMHUS, NEU. I'hoto by Saloy.
also adilcd somewhere ns u supplement to
tho button.
Hlg buttons of smoked pearl, elaborately
carved, nro to be on many of the soft gray
afternoon gowns. Rarely more than two of
them nro used. One pair recently noticed
on mi Imported frock had curved upon their
surface a tiny nest hanging from the bough
of n l no. The mother bird was Hying toward
It, two llttlo ones wero In the nest, whilo
tho mule bird, with wide-stretched throat,
sat Jauntily upon u twig. The cost of theso
two buttons was said to have been about
$5. In favor of using expensive button,
however, It should bo remembered that they
are seldom perishable and enu bo used tlinu
and tlmo again. Tho shops now display
many buttons of military nnd naval de
vices to Ih used upon white llanuel and
linen outing gowns.
Teaching Persistence
"Fow llttlo children, of course, voluntarily
set themselves to overcome dllllcultles, yet
mure, would do so if parents and nurses
wero not In tho habit of catering to that
lllghtliiess characteristic of nil young tilings
which leads thorn to follow up whatever
momentarily attracts their attention," Is
tho position taken by Florence Hull Winter
burn, writing of "Child-Life- In tho Homo" In
Woman's Homo Companion. "Tho capacity
to dwell for a long tlmo upon one thought
Involves both Intensity of deslro nnd Innate
umbltlou to reach right results. 1 have
seen this struggle Tor perfection In an In
cipient form show Itself in a llttlo child but
IS nr ntliB old. And how sincerely I re
spected thnt llttlo one. Ho was sitting in
his mother's lap beside tho library table
one evening, when in nn Idle mood shu took
up a penny nnd set It on tho head or a small
gill Imago three or four Inches high und
with a bend scarcely larger than tho coin.
Seeing that tho baby watched hor, sho said
playfully, 'Ilaby can't do that!' Tho little
one's brown oyos sparkled with a look that
peumed to say, 'Oh, can't 17' nnd taking
tho penny In his lingers ho essayed to bal
ance it as she hud done. It fell. 'Oil!' said
baby, quietly, und, picking it up, tried again,
with tho same result. Without the least
sign of discouragement or linpatleiico tho
llttlo thing tried over and over ngnln for a
score of times, until at lntt ho succeeded In
balancing tho coin on tho head of the linage.
Tim bravo baby! Wo gnvo him n round of
applnuso and ho looked from ono to the other
of us with a curious llttlo gliiuco of satis
faction. Tho next day ho could net bo pre
vailed upon to undertake tho sumo feat ngnln.
Onco having demonstrated that ho could do
It tho act lost Its Interest. Here was a tiny
horo In wnnt of dllllcultles to conquer; nn
Infnnt Nowten, oxcolllng In tho ability to
concentrate his wholo mind upon n slnglo
object so long no It was noccssnry for that
object to ongrose bis nttontlon,"