Of the literary merit of his productions there is no doubt. They are intensely southern in their flavor and represent the spirit which animated what has come to be called "The Old South." An agricultural people, we of the South gave but little attention, prior to the Civil War, to literary pursuits. There were those like Judge Meek who wrote and wrote well, and thousands of others could have done so, but there was but slight encouragement, so that the literary culture of the South was largely unknown and unrecognized by others. The genuine spirit of the people and of the times is embalmed in the rare literary products such as we have from the pen of this Alabamian. That which has already been said affords a slight view of the stirring scenes through which Judge Meek passed the major part of his life. Possessing varied gifts, he sought to give vent in some measure to each, but it is in his literary productions that his real fame abides. That literature was his passion is shown by the fact that, whatever else he did, he could not abandon the pen. But the market for his literary wares was so limited that without ample means he was unable to prosecute that alone. The two indispensable requisites of literary success--time and leisure--were not his to command, and he was compelled to scuffle for the expression of his charming thought as best he could. The literary productions of Judge A. B. Meek have been more eagerly sought by the later generations than by his contemporaries. The edition of each was limited, his books have therefore become rare, highly prized by all lovers of literature, but difficult to find. Certainly as much as any other southern writer Judge Meek has immortalized the spirit and genius of the South of a former period, which is now only a pleasing recollection. More than any other, perhaps, he has embodied in enduring form the peculiar elements which entered into our southern life. The mocking bird, the magnolia, the long trailing moss of our southern swamps, the honeysuckle, the traits and remnants of the vanished tribes of the Red Men, and other elements peculiarly southern are embodied and embalmed in the prose and poetry of A. B. Meek. Without the weirdness of Poe, Meek surpassed him in deftness of touch and daintiness of expression. There is an indefinable delicacy and a subtleness of force and suggestiveness in many of Meek's passages which have never been surpassed. Nothing can excel the beauty and color of some of his verse. In one instance, while describing an Indian maiden, he says: "And her eyes flashing wildly when with gladness they shine, Have the dark liquid flow of the ripe muscadine." His responsive spirit absorbed the soft, bland atmosphere of his own sunny region. BASIL MANLY, SR.