The other day I saw an instance of self-embarrassment sometimes caused by people who interpret instructions too literally, and then try to obey them to the letter. In Westmoreland street during the lunch hour rush, four elderly ladies stood huddled together at the foot of a tramway standard in the centre of the street. There is little space between the two sets of tram-lines, and to stand there at any time incurs a certain amount of danger. On this occasion, owing to the west side of the street being under repair and all the traffic on that side restricted to the narrow width of the in-going tram-line, the position was greatly worse. Marooned in the centre of the street, with the traffic sweeping past one either side, the four almost terrified women attracted the attention of a sympathetic Civic Guard who came to their rescue and escorted them to the safety of the pavement near where I stood. Reaching there he addressed one of them, saying: "In the name of goodness, ma'am, what made ye stand out there"? Back came the reply in a rich country accent. "Sure we wanted a tram for Rathgar, and we were told to wait down by that post there and we'd get one."
The Irish Times, November 1st, 1930.