The decline of Sarum, which was very rapid, has been traced to a disagreement between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. During the reign of Henry I. the bishop of Old Sarum, who rose to that dignity, from being a parish priest at Caen, was entrusted with the keys of the fortress. The bishop, however, fell into disgrace, the king resumed the command of the castle, and the military openly insulted the disgraced prelate and the clergy. These animosities increasing, the Empress Maude bestowed many gifts upon the cathedral, and added much land to its grants. Herbert, a subsequent bishop of the see, attempted to remove the establishment, but its execution was reserved for his brother and successor, Richard Poor, whose monument is in the south chancel of the present cathedral at Salisbury. This was about the year 1217, from which time the inhabitants of Old Sarum removed their residence, and pulled down their dwellings, with the materials of which they constructed their new habitations: and as one city increased in population and extent, so the other almost as rapidly decayed. Hence the establishment of New Sarum, or _Salisbury_. In the reign of Edward II. Sarum possessed the privilege of sending two members to parliament, a privilege which it still retains. [1] "_Ancient Wilts_,"--Sir R.C. Hoare, speaking of _Stonehenge_, expresses his opinion that "our earliest inhabitants were Celts, who naturally introduced with them their own buildings customs, rites, and religions ceremonies, and to them I attribute the erection of Stonehenge, and the greater part of the sepulchral memorials that still continue to render its environs so truly interesting to the antiquary and historian." _Abury_, or _Avebury_, is a village amidst the remains of an immense temple, which for magnificence and extent is supposed to have exceeded the more celebrated fabric of Stonehenge; Some enthusiastic inquirers have however, carried their supposition beyond probability, and in their zeal have even supposed them to be _antediluvian_ labours! Many of the _barrows_ in the vicinity of Sarum have been opened, and in them several antiquarian relics have been discovered. In short, the whole county is one of high antiquarian interest, and its history has been illustrated with due fidelity and research. [2] Richard of Cirericesler, p. 31, 68, 113. [3] Cott. _Coll. Faustina_, b. 3, _MSS. Brit Mus._ [4] Brompton _Twysd._. 866. [5] Dodsworth's _History of Salisbury Cathedral_. [6] Roger de Hoveden. [7] Ibid. [8] Petrus Blesensis, _Epist_, 105. * * * * * CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS. (_For the Mirror._)