The Forgotten French Soldier

This story is probably apocryphal, but conveys a truth nonetheless.

During the early 19th century, following the Napoleonic Wars, a French soldier was captured and imprisoned. He was thrown into a dark, damp cell and quickly forgotten. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. He had no visitors. No letters. No word from the outside world. In that loneliness, he began to believe that no one remembered him—or even cared.

With nothing but time, the…