Lover? Joker? Mystery word in an 1824 diary

[guest141721]

I'm inclined to go for "lover" for the following reasons.

Disregard the capital letters in General and Lover. If you look closely you'll see that several words in the middle of sentences are written with a capital letter: for example "Breeze".

The first letter is definitely L. Compare it with the word Laugh also with a capital letter.

Second and third letters are o and v. Compare the v with the word favor four lines above.

So I think it should be "general lover" possibly in the context that he was a bit of a ladies man. This would also fit in with him having spoken highly of the Misses Dallas.

[MaureeninNY]

If the word is Lover ... what is a "General Lover"?

Not a term I was familiar with either but just a random sample of a few articles from the British Newspapers (FMPast):

A GENERAL LOVER.

“... A GENERAL LOVER. It has been ascertained that during the voyage from Melbourne to Perth, Swanston,” although at the time engaged to be married to Miss Rounsevell, was exceedingly attentive to several of the lady passengers on board, and that the uncle ...”
 
March 25, 1892 - St James's Gazette - London, London, England

................
AFFILIATION CASE.—A GENERAL LOVER.—On Tuesday, John Barnes, a stout young man, coachman to the Earl Radnor, was charged with refusing to support an illegitimate Child, which he was alleged to be the father...
October 14, 1848 - Weekly Chronicle (London)
..............

Maureen

[roopat]

Sticking my neck out here.....
I think the word is "Quiz" meaning a tease, a joker.


I read a lot of Georgette Heyer novels in my youth, set in the Regency period and I seem to recall this was a word used in her books. 'Oh you are such a quiz, Sir' she said, waving her fan. (I made that up to show the sort of context I vaguely remember.  )


Of course she could have made up many of the so-called Regency words in her novels.


We still have the word 'quizzical' which may be connected.


Pat

[Treetotal]

I'm inclined to go for "lover" for the following reasons.

Disregard the capital letters in General and Lover. If you look closely you'll see that several words in the middle of sentences are written with a capital letter: for example "Breeze".

The first letter is definitely L. Compare it with the word Laugh also with a capital letter.

Second and third letters are o and v. Compare the v with the word favor four lines above.

So I think it should be "general lover" possibly in the context that he was a bit of a ladies man. This would also fit in with him having spoken highly of the Misses Dallas.

Exactly...that's what lead me to my conclusion in my early post, the context fits. This is old fashion language!
Carol

[Mike in Cumbria]

General lover seems to have been a synonym for a small-talker.

[JenB]

If the word is Lover ... what is a "General Lover"?

Not a term I was familiar with either but just a random sample of a few articles from the British Newspapers (FMPast):

A GENERAL LOVER.

“... A GENERAL LOVER. It has been ascertained that during the voyage from Melbourne to Perth, Swanston,” although at the time engaged to be married to Miss Rounsevell, was exceedingly attentive to several of the lady passengers on board, and that the uncle ...”
 
March 25, 1892 - St James's Gazette - London, London, England

................
AFFILIATION CASE.—A GENERAL LOVER.—On Tuesday, John Barnes, a stout young man, coachman to the Earl Radnor, was charged with refusing to support an illegitimate Child, which he was alleged to be the father...
October 14, 1848 - Weekly Chronicle (London)
..............

I was just doing a newspaper search as well. It seems to have been a fairly commonly used expression for someone who was a ladies man (as Treetotal also observes)

[Mike in Cumbria]

Two more titles of out-of-print works:

"The General lover: A comedy," By Mr Moss
"Conceits of a General Lover" by Edward Barnard.

It seems to have been a well-known phrase

[Mike in Cumbria]

Jen - I like the phrase in your extract "The shortness of his memory and the largeness of his heart".
I think we have all known people like that at some time.

[roopat]

From the Online Etymological Dictionary:


"Quizzical (adj)


1789, from quiz (n) 'an odd or eccentric person' (1782)"


I have seen an upper case Q written like an L in old handwriting.


Pat (outnumbered by the experts  )