"How to Write a Story"
"How to Write a Story" is an essay by Twain that explains the composition of a humorous story and what makes it humorous. A story of humor, he says, is native to America and by far the hardest type to write. In England, stories are "comic", and in French, they are simply "witty". Twain sarcastically describes the differences between these, and believes that Americans are the best story writers. He says that in England, the presentation of stories is often sub-par, because they overuse jokes.
"Advice to Youth"
"Advice to Youth" is an essay giving advice to the younger generation of Americans. Although it obviously pertains to the 1880's, there is still some good advice in the subject matter. The first piece of advice, for example, is to always listen to your parents. The advice is somewhat rebellious, and is obviously catered to the youthful audience, making humorous suggestions that could only be considered good advice in the mind of someone youthful.
"Taming the Bicycle"
Again, Twain gives readers exactly what they expect after reading the title of the essay. Twain recounts his experiences of learning to ride a bicycle with a high wheel (not a unicycle, but a bicycle with one very large and another very small wheel) bicycle. He had a teacher to help him through, but continuously falls off onto the teacher. Though this essay was published posthumously, it is considered to be one of his funnier essays.
"At the Funeral"
Funerals are no laughing matter, but Twain manages to give readers some witty advice when attending them. For example, dress properly, only mourn the amount that you knew the person, and do not bring animals to the event.
