A closed green garden gate surrounded by ferns, with a sealed envelope lying outside in misty woodland.

Original artwork, not a still

Mark Twain

I refused to attend his funeral. But I wrote a very nice letter explaining that I approved of it.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker jokes that they stayed away from someone's funeral yet sent a gracious note. The twist is that the note said they approved of the funeral. The dry politeness of the letter delivers a cutting, darkly comic verdict on the deceased.

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