The New York herald., 1878-11-26
JOHNNY LOOKUP.
The LugnbriouS Mania Of an UnfOrtu~
nate Young Man.
HE LOVES WAKES AND FUNERALS.
A Curious Psychological Study
for the Doctors.

About six O'Clock last evening reporter of tho
HERALD climbed two crooked flights of stairs to tho
top story Of wooden tenement in Desbrosses street
and asked for NIr. Daniel Gallagher.
"Hc lives here" said woman. who had strong
Irish accent. Would you be afther seein' him?'
"yes,' replied the reporter, ii yon please
The cosey cttic room small but comfortable. con-
tanned three other persons two young men and a
motEcrly-looking woman. who now came forward,
and tho light fell upon her shors and rotund figure
and parch,nent-like but good naured countenance.
"Ah! he's in a poor way, he is" she said 'But
what we can be don' with him or for him don't
know"
eComo in this room" said the younger woman.
"ard Ill bring him"
A SINGULAR APPEARANCE.
SO the reporter sat down IN little paror. and
very soon Daniel Gallagher, the young man, who on
Sunday picked up i'll Calvary Cemetery and sent
to the Chambers Street Hospital having tainted from
the pain of i rupture, led in by the hand One
glance was sufficient to convince the reporter that
the man was ont of his mind. He seemed about
eighteen years Of age. and his appearance is
rlther remarkable The outlines of his face
were charactarless. The mouth was childlike
and had weak and whinperng expression.
while as much of the eyes could be
scrutinized seemed dead and faded blue but at all
times they were either bent fxedy the ground or
turaed upward toward the ceiling at sharp angle.
Surmountng the forehead tuft of silvcry hair.
All It's fellow locks brown, and STOOD forth from
his scalp in fantastic disorder
The mother for such was the elder woman kept
up continual string Of talk, referring repeatedly to
her sons mental defects The poor fellow seemed to
comprehend the full import Of all that she said. foI
he flushed and paled alternately rocking himself to
and fro in his chair, with nervous agitation. &N
Denny was always so from the very first" said
Mrs Gallagher. "He born with his eyes that-a-
way You'll notice. sur that he has ather to look up
or down; he can't look straight at you'
FOLLOWING THE DEAD
sBut what is this strange fancy that he has for go
ing to funcrals?' asked the reporter.
"Ah! that's it. He's a-runnn from mornin' till
hs is 70 em rsr ao a. And the ss
only way he's wrong except 1t is that he tells good
many lies, so he does.
Whose funeral was that which attended yester-
day? Did you know the deceascd3'
sYes" he replied, In halting and indecisivo way.
II knowed him; know them ali; know everybody"
''But what was his manner
II do not know
"rcii mo why you attend so many funerals"
II don't know; it's because feel like it; day
shall die. and then il won't be only few persons
who will follow me to Calvary"
.But why do you like to 80 to funerals SO often9'
He was silent, and Mrs. Gallagher replied
..It's no use-it's his head His head is a little
the time He looks ont for the deaths He reads the
newspapers every day and when he sees @ mat fS'
where used to live he mp and starts of as fast
lie can
.Deany," said the.other woman. "you didn't know
whose funeral you were going to on Saturday. did
you Z?
before. Didn't they use to live down here in WASH
ington street? 1t was O'Hare-thats who 1t was.'
RUNNING CALVARY.
sfWhy," said the mother, 'it took place away up
in Twenty street. and he all the time a-suf-
fering from the rupture. don't SOC how he ever
could go around So And you see he niver will ride
in the carriages that goes to the funerals He'd
rather go foot, and sometimes he runs all the
S to "arg ahead sns o % The policemen hSs
all got that they knows him, and has the under
takers and the ferrymasters They don't interfere
with him bit. There's Mr.. W. Of Spring street,
that Denny used to help TO wash tho corpses aud to
carry the candes-he didn't git any pay for a-doin'
"And how long has your son been in this condi-
TOM
"He never was exacty right but he has been worse
during the past six years. Ho had eryspelns OF the
head an his hair out, and he the
afherward. And last Friday he was a-helpin to
move people across the way and 40 he says, he
fell down stairs and trunk fell top of him. and
he ruptured He sent to the hospital but they
soon sent him back again. and yesterday his running
ali day mpde him worse so when he was over in CAL
valry he fell down. Shure it's great trouble 10
but we don't mind it IL we only knew that he would
be SAFE from harm. He's gentle and never hurts any
His sister Maggie II is that has looked most
afther him.
a
The isothcr accompanied the reporter down the
stairs and to the door of adjoining house where
she met daughter Maggie. The latter corroboratcd
all had been already learned She told how much
she loved her demcnted brother and how she had
cared for him and worried about him till her tears
flowed freely.
what is your explanation of his mania?" asked the
reporter.
II think" she replied, with shudder, "that he
delights to look upon the dead. He endures all sorts
OF insults. The boys call him Johnny Lookup and
Lookup Johnny. account of his eyes but he
and all harm and m
He has quite an educaton, too. He can read and
write. Three years ago he at the Catholic Pro-
tectory in westciestcr, and the Christian Brothers
liked him very much.
A bartender told the reporter that he often met
Johnny Lookup" ut wakes in the neghborhood
and he always principal object of the entertain
nent because OF his many odd sayings He was jovial
like other folks and sometimes he spoke quite az sen-
sibly On saturday night he was ut one Potter Conk-
Inns wake, and went home in the morning i'll high
spirits II is said that of his traits Il an eager
interest In the bodies Of tho drowned found in tho
rivers. 1t is impossible to discover anything ghoul-
like in his looks behavior; but the condition OF
his mind is q nystrry certainly worthy of the study
OF the medical profession.