Long may the Grand Master live

The following birthday message was sent by telegram in 1885 to Victor Hugo, the French writer responsible for, most notably, Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. It was penned on the day of Hugo's 83rd birthday by the father of both dynamite and the Nobel Prizes, Alfred Nobel.

Short, but sweet.

Transcript and translation follow. Image courtesy of Nobelprize.org.

Image: Nobelprize.org

Transcript

Victor Hugo
Paris

Vive et vive de longues années le grand Maître pour charmer le monde et propager ses grandes idées de charité universelle.

A. Nobel

Translation

Victor Hugo
Paris

Long may the Grand Master live, to charm the world and spread his ideas of universal charity.

A. Nobel