"...Keep the lash knotted; keep the brand and the faggots in waiting, for prompt work with the next "n-----" who may be suspected of any damnable crime! Wreak a swift vengeance upon him, for the satisfaction of the noble impulses that animate knightly hearts, and then leave time and accident to discover, if they will, whether he was guilty or no."
Mark Twain - August 26, 1869