When The Initial Meaning Gets Lost - An Anecdote

Today, we shall travel to France, in the second half of the 19th century...

We see General Boulanger, a dashing military and political man with a well-maintained red beard, pass in front of a dark hallway inside the War Ministry's buildings. Thinking to have found a shortcut, he decides to take it, when a senior officer stationed there stops him.

"I'm sorry, General, but you may not enter here."

Confused, the general asks, "Whyever not?"

The senior officer shifts uncomfortably from one polished boot to the other. "I do not know, General. But it has been the case for as long as I remember. And the order is clear: we cannot let anyone through under any condition."

Intrigued, General Boulanger had the War Ministry's archives searched for the reason for that order. And, finally, after days of search, they found it.

The order had been given in 1839; forty-seven years prior, to not let anyone into the passage as it had just been repainted. They simply forgot to issue new orders once the paint had dried...

***

Interesting tidbit, to me, about General Boulanger, is that he died here in Brussels! Wonder if I can find his tomb at the Ixelles cemetery...