It was the opinion of Sydney Smith that every one of the novels, before "The Fortunes of Nigel," contained a Meg Merrilies and a Dominie Sampson.

He may have recognized a male Meg in Edie Ochiltree,--the invaluable character who is always behind a wall, always overhears everything, and holds the threads of the plot.

Or he may have been hypercritical enough to think that Elspeth of the Burnfoot is the Meg of the romance.

Few will agree with him that Meg Merrilies, in either of these cases, is "good, but good too often." The supposed "originals" of certain persons in the tale have been topics of discussion.

The character of Oldbuck, like most characters in fiction, is a combination of traits observed in various persons.