Excerpted from the March 1892 issue of The Gaslight Gazette, © 2002 Openshaw Publications. All Rights Reserved.

The Photograph!

The woman!! The scandal!!! Nancy Beiman spent this past Christmas in Hamburg. While there, she visited a flohmarkt. Nancy said the English translation is "flea market" and the name comes from the fact that years ago, one often found "flohs" in used clothing purchased at such venues.

While there, she found and purchased the following photograph and gave it to me for Christmas. She said that she tried to decipher the handwriting found on the back of the photo, but could only make out a few words she thought were in German.

I took the photo to Dr. John Struhsaker at Furman University. Dr. Struhsaker, who specialises in Germanic dialects, said that the writing was a combination of Old German and Czech. He admitted that his knowledge of Czech is somewhat lacking, but stated that the gist of the message is, " My dearest, while it must remain forever hidden, Our love and passion for you will grow and last for eternity."