Answer by Researcher scriptor on Sat 13 Oct 2007 - 1:32 am UTC:

Dear binder123,

I managed to decipher most of the text. It wasn't easy at all and took me
several hours, but I was successful to a large extent. In this letter,
Victor Hugo used some antiquated spellings (for example, he wrote "poète"
not with an accent, but with a trema-e, as it was common in the 19th
century), and he even made two or three spelling mistakes; this, in
addition to a very bad handwriting, made it a rather arduous task to read
and understand the letter. But with the exception of only a few words, I
finally deciphered the text.

The envelope is addressed to one Monsieur Drulhon, 10 rue du Commerce,
Geneva, Switzerland. And this is what Victor Hugo wrote him (English
translation first, followed by the French original text):


Hauteville house. - 3 November

I read your poem, Monsieur, _____
_______________, I feel a
noble _________ in your ______ plea,
I strive to answer you.
No, do not sacrifice your profession,
do not hazard your peace; the
The priest lives on the altar, but the
poet does not live on poetry. That
literature requires the literate,
____________ without exception.
Success is capricious. I add
this: success sometimes avoids the
talent and goes to the mediocrity;
thus it is impossible to predict anything.
After having read a very beautiful poem,
one must neither encourage nor
discourage the poet.
That is my disposition,
Monsieur.
Recieve my cordial sentiment
of __________.          Victor Hugo



Hauteville house. - 3 9bre

J'ai lu vos vers, Monsieur, ________
Me demandez  ____________ , je sens un
noble _______ dans votre ________ appel,
je m'empresse de vous répondre.
Non, ne sacrifiez pas votre métier,
ne risquez pas votre paix; le
prêtre vit de l'autel, mais le
poète ne vit pas de la poésie. Que
la littérature necessitte le lettré,
c'est là _______ aller sans exception.
Le succès est capricieux. J'ajoute
ceci: le succès quelquefois fuit le
talent et va à la médiocrité;
il est donc impossible de rien prédir.
Après avoir lu de très beau vers,
on ne peut ni encourager, ni
decourager le poète.
C'est là ma situation d'esprit,
Monsieur.
Recevez mon cordial sentiment
de ____________.           Victor Hugo



So obviously Monsieur Drulhon had sent Victor Hugo a sample of his poetry
and asked him whether he should give up his current profession to become a
poet. And Victor Hugo gave him the good advice not to do so.

I hope that this is helpful!
Best regards,
Scriptor