The rise and fall of the mustache, and other "Hawk-eyetems"

"The rise and fall of the mustache, and other 'Hawk-eyetems'" by Robert J. Burdette is a collection of humorous essays written in the late 19th century. The pieces lampoon everyday American life—boyhood, courtship, marriage, and small-town routines—with a blend of mock-heroic flourish and warm, observational wit. The opening of the collection sets a playful tone with a tongue‑in‑cheek preface and contents, then dives into the title sketch: a sweeping, comic meditation on boyhood that begins with Adam and Cain, traces a boy’s endless questions, dime‑novel dreams, first tail‑coat, and the painful advent of a fledgling mustache, and follows “Tom” through awkward courtship with Laura, a nerve‑wracking interview with her flinty father, their engagement, wedding, and early housekeeping, all the way to parenthood and the soft fade of time. The humor springs from vivid set pieces—the barber‑shop terrors, boots that maim, neckties that multiply, and domestic purchases that are always one necessity short—tempered by genuine affection for ordinary lives. The next sketch, “Getting Ready for the Train,” begins with a couple missing a departure, vowing a rematch, and the husband’s frantic, farcical preparations as he sprints through the house shedding garments while the clock runs down. (This is an automatically generated summary.)