Superstitions And Customs Connected With Judas Iscariot.

Those mushroom productions which grow under the elder are somewhat like the shape of an ear , and are vulgarly called " Judas' Ears , " or , as some say , " Jews' ears . " In Latin they are termed Auricula ; Judce . Jews ' ears are said to stink naturally because the grow on the elder ! In the Dublin Magazine we find an ancient cure for a cough by their use : —

" For a cough take Judas ear , With paring of a peare , And drink this without fear , If you will have a remedie . " The Arbor Judce , - or Judas Tree is sometimes called the tree of the traitor ' s suicide ; it is common in England and the Levant . Some believe that Judas

hanged himself on the aspen tree , which has shuddered ever since at the awful recollection . In support of this , the aspen tree flourishes near Jerusalem . Another belief is that it was the fig tree , probably founded on the fact of our Saviour blasting the barren fig tree . In Bohemia they refer it to the willow tree , which the devil has made attractive to suicides . The dislike of the traitor was carried to such an extent , that in Athens

they used to burn an effigy of Judas on Easter Day in the Greek churches . Hone also mentions the custom of making effigies at Easter . The Portuguese , Spanish , Greek , Russian , and South American sailors , according to Brand , Dyer , King , and others , observe the annual custom of flogging Judas Iscariot on Good Friday . They hoist a rude representation of the traitor by a rope round its neck up the fore rigging , after which they go to cha . pel ; when the

service is concluded , they lower the figure and duck it three times , then haul it on board ancl kick it all round the deck and bind it to the capstan . They then lash it till it is cut to pieces ; the ship ' s bell keeps clanging all the time , ancl grog is served out to the men , while others sing a sort of chant denouncing the betrayer . The ceremony is ended by burning the effigy amid jeers and hootings . Sometimes they cut- off a leg or half the bod y ancl burn

it , throwing the rest into the water . They also make' a representation of his heart and cut it into strips , afterwards throwing it into the sea . A Spaniard at Portsmouth not long since lost his life by jumping overboard after the fio-ure in a frantic mood . In Brazil the boys carry Judas about as a sort of Guy Fawkes , afterwards making him the subject of an auto dafe . The Greek church at Smyrna has a curious ceremony of washing the feet . The bishop

personates Christ , and the twelve Apostles are acted by priests . Hasselquiet says that he who personates Judas must be paid for it , as he generally retains the odium for life with the people . At Valletta the Maltese jangle the church bells on Good Friday in execration of the memory of Judas . A Scotch poem entitled " Flyting o' Dunbar and Kennedie , " published in Ramsey ' s "Evergreen , " touches on this subject : —

" A Benefice quha wald give sic a Beist , But gif it were to jingle Judas' bells ? Tak thee a fiddle or a flute to jest , TJndockt thou art , ordaind for naething ells . " "Judas' bell" may , perhaps , be called after St . Jude , who was styled Judas in early English . The children at Boppart on the Rhine have rattles , with

which they make a horrid noise on Good Friday eve , which they call breaking Judas' bones . The same custom is held in Malta , where they have a wooden machine making a tremendous noise , which they designate " rattling " Judas ' bones that will not rest in his grave . Judas' candles were formerly used with the Paschal candle at Easter , and called teneber candles . The last object we shall mention which received the name of Judas is the Judas' cup . In a book published by the Surtees , Societ y , — " Ancient Monuments , Rites , and