The two short stories present fictional characters who are supposedly part of Twain's lineage.

In the final passage, Twain develops the story to a point of crisis, and then abruptly ends the tale, saying: The truth is, I have got my hero (or heroine) into such a particularly close place, that I do not see how I am ever going to get him (or her) out of it again—and therefore I will wash my hands of the whole business, and leave that person to get out the best way that offers—or else stay there.

I thought it was going to be easy enough to straighten out that little difficulty, but it looks different now.With that, Twain's Autobiography ends.

Rather, they use cartoons illustrating the children's poem The House that Jack Built to lampoon the Erie Railroad Ring (the house) and its participants, Jay Gould, John T. Hoffman, and Jim Fisk.

Two years after publication, he bought all of the printing plates of the book and destroyed them.