Lover? Joker? Mystery word in an 1824 diary

[JenB]

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

Surely the 'old fashioned' way of writing an uppercase Q (which I was taught at school) was like the number 2, not a 'L' ? i.e. with the ascender leaning to the left not to the right as in this example.

[manukarik]

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

Surely the 'old fashioned' way of writing an uppercase Q (which I was taught at school) was like the number 2, not a 'L' ? i.e. with the ascender leaning to the left not to the right as in this example.

I was just about to post the same - definitely remember a cursive capital letter Q looking like a 2!

[manukarik]

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

I like this concept - it fits in with the concept that the Captain and the writer are gossiping! I had never heard of this term "General Lover" before and it's quite hard to find on a google search, but there is also a book "The Conceits of a General Lover" by Edward W Barnard, published by the Gorham Press, Boston in 1903. So maybe it is a simply a phrase that has fallen out of use or was more used in the US.

[Kendra71]

Thank you. You're all wonderful.

In support of "general lover", and it being an archaic phrase, the writer does in other instances come out with phrases which seem to have been fashionable or lifted from contemporary books. The capitalisation of G and L might support that.

I do like "Louse", although I don't (personally) think it is.

[MaureeninNY]

This one was fun to read:
https://www.rootschat.com/links/01q6c/
.......
OH, chide not, my charmer, nor think me a rover,

A Soldier, of course, is a general lover;

With a row dow, stand clear all,

Ye beauties, both high and low;

Oh, in love still I must fall,

Sweet creatures, where'er I go.


......................

 
Maureen

[Ruskie]

This has been a very interesting thread. You learn something new every day on rootschat. 

[shanreagh]

This one was fun to read:
https://www.rootschat.com/links/01q6c/
.......
OH, chide not, my charmer, nor think me a rover,

A Soldier, of course, is a general lover;

With a row dow, stand clear all,

Ye beauties, both high and low;

Oh, in love still I must fall,

Sweet creatures, where'er I go.


......................

 
Maureen

I think this is the reference rather than the book (published 1903).  The song fits the time line.  (A comic opera. As performed at the Theatre-Royal, in Covent-Garden. Written by Captain Jephson:
Jephson, Robert, 1736-1803.)

[Kendra71]

Maureen, yes that's nice. The captain being referred to in my extract was also a former military man.

(thumbs up emoji, if I could find one!)

[shanreagh]

The reference works without it being necessary to note that the captain was a former military man.  General lover is along the same lines as an eye to a bit of social climbing, or name dropping.  Traces of an eye for the ladies to round off some cliches!  Also those who are extra specially nice to those of higher ranks and that does have a military connotation