There a quite a lot of effects you can get with horz.retraces, eg a textmode copperbar (change color #0 with every scanline)

An enraged enemy glutting their inſatiable vengeance in  the  blood of their royal countrymen immolated to the menacing pride and cruelties of an inefficient fœderacy of crowned heads in the cauſe of Royalty.

Whence may be guessed what their function was : was it to go about circled with a band of rooking officials , with cloakbags full of citations , and processes to be served by a corporality of griffonlike promoters and apparitors ?

Our General was so tickled […] that it was some time before he could get command of his risibles sufficiently to thank Joe for what he had done.