He told jokes, of course ("the report of my death was an exaggeration"; "there is no humor in heaven"), but also reflected. Death was a challenge ("dying is nothing to a really great and brave man") and a conclusion. It was a relief and a responsibility, especially for the famous."A distinguished man should be as particular about his last words as he is about his last breath," he noted. "He should write them out on a slip of paper and take the judgment of his friends on them. He should never leave such a thing to the last hour of his life, and trust to an intellectual spurt at the last moment to enable him to say something smart with his latest gasp and launch into eternity with grandeur."
from Hillel Italie: The Hour: Twain's final years
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