Available on the Internet, several places, is the alleged quote: "Ah what gift the gods would gi'e us, to see ourselves as others see us." Not only is the quote slightly wrong, it is not from the believed source, "To a Wee Beastie." The correct quote and the correct source are in my column, today.
The best rule is this: Never write a quote from memory. But if you do, don't trust your memory, and check it out.
John / Billybob