St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-06
ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
A Chicago Heiress Elopes With the
Elderly Husband of Notorious
Frenchwoman.
The Girls Father Was Hardly Cold il
His Grave When She Fled
From Home.
An Elopfng Couple From Mtlwau.
kee Found Living in the
Garden City.
The Hopeless Love of a Defiance,
o., Woman Drives Her to
Suicide.
An Reiress' Folly.

An Heiress' Folly. y
Special to the Globe.
CHICAGO, Aug. 5.-Miss Madeline Kess-
Ter, fresh and attractive twenty-two-year-
old heiress, with luxuriant chestnut hair
and eyes that would make any jeweler in
Chicago think of his trade. has created
sensation among her West side friends and
caused her widowed mother no end of grief
by clipping with Alfred Rickner, alias
French Fred" notorious character and
well known in the worst part of Fourth
avenue. He is As years of age and the huS-
Dand OF Nine. Philomena Chaquette. Whose
name, engraved on silver plate. em-
DelllShes the door of a brothel at 174 Fourth
avenue. He was married to this woman
June 20, 1885. by Justice Murphy, in this
City, and has since been a penSOner on her
generosity. Both are French Canadians
and originally came from Montreal. How
French Fred" who is
A sINIsTER-LooKING NAN,
secured an introduction to Miss Kessler and
won her confidence is piece of knavery
that is ineXplicable to her friends. All is
explained in the details which follow. Peter
Kessler, the young lady'S father, was
flour merchant at457 State street. He died
about three weeks ago, leaving an estate
valued at $500, 900. He has been resident
OF Chicago for thirty years or more and was
regarded as all old settler. He came from
Lorraine. Madeline is his only daughter.
She has one brother. who is clerk in the
pension office at Washington, She was al
ways quiet and innocent in manner, and
never had any gentlemen friends calling on
her. She never had sweetheart. She
was not in the habit of staying out late and
never slept away from home a night in her
life. Apparently she kept no secrets from
her mother. The young girl had not yet
recovered from her grief for the death of
her father when on Tuesday afternoon she
took from an album an old picture of his
and gazed on it with touching fondness.
She showed it to her mourning mother and
told her that she would take the picture to
all artist and get an enlarged copy of it.
She put on her jaunty Milan hat, her tight
fitting jersey and her little kid gloves and
went out OStenSibly to perform this errand
of affiction for her dead fathers memory,
but in reality to
CLANDESTINELY MEET THE MAN
she ran away and disgraced herself with.
Her mother saw her no more. 1t is now
known that Fred Rickner was waiting for
her at the Twenty-secOnd street depot,
where the two boarded Michigan Central
train and fled toward Canada. The I'M
canny figure of Fred Rickner first appeared
as an object on the retina of Miss KeSslerS
eye one day in June Nine. Chaquette, his
wife, kept horse and carriage at Kear-
ney's stable, just across the street from the
store and home Of the Kesslers Fred was
often at this stable to get the rig for drive.
Looking across the street, Madeline saw
him. He was tall and swarthy. He wore
a light suit and white plug hat. He
looked rather dudish. The sight of one
eye was impaired. His dark face was set
off by light mustache and imperial-quite
Frenchy in tone. But, better than all, he
wore an immense diamond ring on the little
finger of his left hand, and fine sparkle in
his necktie.
THE UNSOPHISTICATED GIRL
saw the gems shine in the sun. She saw
the fancy rig which was always at his dis
posal. She imagined, quite logically. that
might be millionaire. A much deeper in
terest was lent to these fancies in Madelne's
mind when she saw the man flirting with
her across the street. She encouraged these
romantic OvertureS at length through the
medium of a weakened old colored woman,
who lives in the basement of the Kessler
| house, he secured All introduction. After
| this RubcOn was crossed, the base desigus
| of Rickner were easy enough. He often
met, Madeline clandeStinely, and with the
motive of getting possession of whatever
| wealth might be left her, won the conf
dence by deception to such an extent that
she renowned home, mother, and all that
was dear to flee with him, and, as she
imagined, to become his wife. Every one
in the neighborhood who knew the girl was
expressing pity for her to-day. Her
mother is so Frustrated by her double cause
of grief that she cannot bear to speak of
her daughters disgrace. She says the girl
| TOOK NONE OF HER CLOTHING
no money, although she had access to the
safe in the store. Madeline's uncle, who
was to-day in charge of the store. said that
they were all so broken up over the affair
| that they could not bear to talk of it.
| 1.-The ruffan.'' he said, ''stole the girl away,
| thinking she would get great deal of her faith
er's money, but she won't get accent. We have
| seen the will and know what we are talking
| about. She was thought to have been willed
! the Batcheldor restaurant building, but it is
! not so. She is of age, and was to be kept and
clothed as long as she remained unmarried
at home. If she writes here for money now
| she will not get a cent. The blow will all fall
| on her.
Nine. Chaquette, a swarthy little French
woman of dumpy figure and swapping eyes,
went over to the Kessler house and showed
the mother of Madeline the marriage certiti-
cate which proved her union with Rickner
| To-day reporter saw
THE JEALOUS AND FIERY MADAME.
She caid:
Erred, he first make friend with re girl six
! or seven months ago. He look for money
more than for re girl. He Eat kind OF man.
He look for money when he marry me. He 40
year old. He got only one eye. He thief
He fool me out of $500. 1t was like zis: He
show me a bogus telegram which gay his
mother sick and dying in Montreal. He must
go right away. l give him re $500 and went
to re Grand Trunk depot to bid him
goodbye. L gay; Fred be re good
man now. and come back to me.
| I'll try, he gay; my heart it feel like stone
in leaving year. Oh, re big liar! He got on
re train and jump off again at Twenty-second
street. Oh, I'll give him big racket for me!
He rob me OF $500. / knew him in Montreal
His picture in re rogue gallery in New York,
in Boston, in Canada. At Kingston he was
in prison. In seven months since he marry
me he beat me out of ST., 900. 1 am going on
AZ years old. Oh, he fool re girl bac. He big
man; wear my big diamonds. She little fool;
think he millionaire. He drive my horse and
buggy and give bill re sale on it, but get
it back again. When re $500 gone he come
back to me for more money. You think he
get?'
1 ~ r