Silly season

the period when nobody is supposed to be in London, when there are no parliamentary debates to publish, and when editors are at their wits’-ends to fill their papers with readable matter. All kinds of crazes on political and social subjects are then ventilated, gigantic gooseberries, monstrous births, and strange showers then become plentiful, columns are devoted to matters which would not at any other time receive consideration, and, so far as the newspapers are concerned, silline is at a premium. Silver beggar , or LURKER , a vagabond who travels through the country with “briefs” containing false statements of lo es by fire, shipwrecks, accidents, . Forged documents are exhibited with signatures of magistrates and clergymen. Accompanying these are sham subscription books. The former, in beggar parlance, is termed “a sham,” whilst the latter is denominated “a delicate.”