Madame Enault was an Italian woman who had been touring all the major towns and cities across Britain in 1880. For just a few weeks she would reside in those towns holding surgeries, pulling out teeth and selling her wonderful medicines. Dressed to kill in robes of scarlet velvet and gold braid she caused quite a stir, as she took the reins and drove three black horses pulling a gilt caravan. On Monday 19 July 1880 she came to operate at the drill ground on Matilda Street, Sheffield and by the following week had attracted quite a following. It was reported that as Madame Enault drove along Cemetery Road towards Sheffield Moor, the streets were lined with people. She waved to the crowd who applauded as she drew near. Men took off their hats and waved them and women waved their handkerchiefs and cheered as she passed, bowing right and left like a visiting dignitary.

Accompanied by a troop of seven or eight band members in gaudy uniforms, she drove into the drill ground and facing the huge crowds of people she spoke to them in a foreign tongue. Her words were translated by a young man who was fashionably attired in a light suit and a white straw hat. Madame Enault confidentially told the crowd her daily routine started when she rose at 5 am before going through her vast correspondence from all parts of Europe. Then she held private consultations until she felt hungry and had to dine. After dinner, a few more consultations would be held, before going to her dressing room to change into one of her more exotic costumes, before driving to the drill ground. Madame freely admitted that by the time she returned back to the Union Hotel, she was so exhausted that she could barely get out of her carriage.

Local people could hardly believe their eyes, and as a result they flocked in their thousands to see this spectacle. It was estimated that in one day between ten and fifteen thousand people, many of them lame and some blind, were attracted by the cures which Madame was said to have effected. Once established, she would painlessly extract teeth to the sounds of a brass band (whose music was said to be painful to the ear) before selling bottles of her wonderful China Caustic or Indian Balm. Her morning schedule also attracted crowds as she held ‘surgeries’ in a room at the Union Hotel, Sheffield where, it was claimed, there were as many as 16 people waiting daily. At first local newspapers avidly reported Madame Enault’s miraculous cures.

One described a paralysed man who, after having been carried into her caravan, instantly threw away his crutches. He claimed that after only a brief trial of her wonderful remedies, he had been cured of all his previous afflictions. Those who were experiencing troublesome teeth were then encouraged to step forward before their molars were removed to the accompaniment of the terrible music of the brass band. It was suggested that perhaps the awful music covered the cries of pain from many of her customers. Nevertheless, using her powerful wrists, this delicate lady would extract teeth from children and grown men with such a speed and ease that was difficult to comprehend. The speed with which she managed these extractions made her boast that she would give £50 to any Sheffield dentist who could do the same. Then came the party piece of this glamorous operator.

She introduced a woman from the crowd from whom she claimed she had removed a tumour the previous day. Madame pointed out the back of the woman’s head from where the tumour had been removed. She told the mass of people in front of her that she had firstly applied some China Caustic. This, she stated would dissolve the base of the tumour in ten minutes or so, before she twisted the affected part off with her bare hands. She then revealed the extracted ‘tumour’ before throwing it up in the air and catching it again. This performance was greet by the mob with ‘unmeasured delight and excitement’. People in the crowd described her as ‘an angel from heaven’ whilst others saw her as ‘the very devil incarnate.’ This display was followed by the sale of the famous China Caustic and Indian Balm which were sold for just 2s a bottle. Madame sat before a huge chest, from which she dispensed such medicines to the crowd. Only after she had sold enough, would she then depart in her gilt carriage.

Despite this exciting start, it was not long before local newspapers began to demolish Madame Enault’s singular career. It was later reported that just the previous summer she had appeared at Warrington in Cheshire, telling local people that she intended to build a house and reside permanently among them. She actually lasted three weeks, before some of her customers demanded their money back and she suddenly disappeared. Then the Madame Enault roadshow appeared in St Helens where again she did a roaring trade. However it was soon revealed that a young woman who had paid 35s to have seven teeth drawn, found that six of them broke in the operation. Since that time the poor woman had been left so ill that she was still under medical treatment.

Another man had consulted Madame and she told him that he was suffering from a large hole in one of his lungs, and unless he followed her strict instructions to the letter, he would die. He paid her a guinea [£1.1s] for each consultation, and took a great deal of the medicine she had sold him, but there was no improvement. The man was so frightened that he was finally driven to consult a medical man who told him that his lungs were perfectly sound, before he finally admitted that he had been duped. He too joined the queue of local people wanting their money back, before Madame Enault packed up her gaudy caravan and left St Helens.

After hearing such stories circulating in the press about her sharp practice, one intrepid reporter decided to buy a bottle of China Caustic and had it analysed from a local chemist. He found the substance consisted of a few essential oils, such as could be bought at any local pharmacy at 6d a bottle. It was also rumoured that the woman who had appeared to be ‘cured’ of the tumour, was in fact, a member of Madame’s Enault’s own permanent entourage. Despite the fact that these stories were widespread in Sheffield, the following day even more crowds assembled at the old drill ground. It was estimated that there were said to be tens of thousands of people all wanting a cure of some kind or another. Some of them had travelled for miles in the hope of being cured by Madame Enault.

A man from the Sheffield Independent dated Monday 26 July 1880 reported the scene. It was noted that it was approaching 3.30 pm the previous day as Madame arrived at the drill ground in her gaudy caravan and horses, to the strains of the brass band which announced her approach. The reporter described how avisible thrill of excitement went through the assembled crowd, as all eyes turned towards the entrance to the grounds. One of the supplicants was a physically handicapped young boy who had been brought to the grounds in a basket carriage by his brother. They had waited patiently since 2 pm having heard of the fame of this great healer. The two boys had spoken to people crowded around them and they had encouraged the brothers, describing the magical attributes of Madame Enault.

In another cart sat a frail and elderly man and his wife who were both suffering from sciatica. Almost instantly another cart drew up alongside the elderly couple containing a man called Wood who lived on Greaves Street, Sheffield. He was paralysed and like thousands of the others that day, was hoping to be cured. Also in attendance was a man propped up on pillows. He had been bed-ridden for years and his friends hearing about the Madame had brought him to the drill ground in the hope that she would cure him. Another in the crowd was a mother carrying her child who had some kind of spinal affliction. They had come from Barnsley the previous day, but unable to get anywhere near to the woman, had been forced to stay overnight in Sheffield. They had come early in the hope to get a place at the front of the crowd.

As the gaudy caravan approached the drill grounds, the crowd applauded vigorously and pressed in towards her as she threw the reins towards one of her attendants. Once again she made a lengthy oration which her interpreter translated into the most execrable English. However on this occasion it seemed that Madame Enault was rather annoyed. She had read the recent article in the local newspaper where a reporter had the temerity to have some of her wonderful products analysed, and she requested the same reporter to step into her caravan where she would let him watch her as she worked. She offered to anyone to allow them to smash her carriage into a thousand pieces if they could prove any collusion between herself and any of the patients she claimed she had cured of tumours.

Having vent her spleen on the crowd, then once again she performed the operation of pulling teeth with much dexterity, to great applause from the crowd. However the reporter stated that those people in the carts were heard to say loudly that those healthy people who were crowded around Madame, should move aside to allow the afflicted ones to get near to her and be cured. When friends of the paralysed boy tried to push the cart towards her, the interpreter frantically shouted at them to desist. When told that the boy just wanted a cure, he was told to go to the Union Hotel on Monday, as Madame’s attendants instructed them to ‘take him away, take him away’.

After this heartless display, there was much anger expressed to wards Madame Enault as words such as ‘charlatan’ and ‘trickster’ were heard in the crowd. However, even the reporter was forced to admit that these condemnations were in the minority, as most of the great mass of people continued to listen to her own estimation of her wonderful abilities. At that point the interpreter announced that there would now be a sale of the miraculous products which had been used to cure people. Madame again seated herself beside a large chest containing bottles and on each side of her were attendants. The band struck up its liveliest tune and the business of selling began.

As fast as she handed the bottles out, they were snatched from her hands. Money changed hands so fast, that it was estimated that within a minute she had taken something in the region of £50 – £60. The rush had been so great that many people just could not get near enough to be served. Then, when she had exhausted her stock, the great show woman drew more teeth and removed another tumour. An old man, leaning on two sticks told her he had been dependent on using those sticks for 18 years and he begged her for help. She rubbed his aged limbs with her special lotion and then took his sticks and ordered him to ‘walk away’. The man did as he was told and looked delighted at the miracle she had just performed.

Madame asked him if he was cured, to which he answered ‘completely’ before she asked him how much she had charged him, to which he answered ‘nothing’. Looking at the crowd Madame Enault told them ‘this is what I do and still my enemies malign me.’ Then the band struck a lively tune as the old man executed a jib to the amusement of the crowd. The Sheffield Independent reporter concluded with the statement:

‘For more than half an hour Madame was fully engaged in taking the money, before she gathered up the reins and drove off the grounds; leaving as she had done on each previous occasions, all the poor paralytics and cripples and other similar cases, without so much as a look of recognition. It was distressing to observe their disappointed looks, as when the crowd had thinned, they were led off the grounds.’

However, it didn’t take long before the people of Sheffield were finally coming to their senses. On her next visit it was noted that there were less crowds than had been seen previously. The limited numbers at the drill ground had also been noticed by Madame who appeared to be exceedingly angry at the small turn out. On her journey to the drill grounds, she could not help but notice that less people had also turned out to watch her driving the three horses along Cemetery Road. Newspaper’s surmised that it was possible the people of Sheffield were finally beginning to see that there had been few real miracles. They suggested that Madame was more interested in selling her quack medicines, pulling teeth and extracting tumours than dealing with the more difficult cases which had come to see her.

Nevertheless it was reluctantly reported that her morning surgeries at the Union Hotel were still attracting much attention:

‘There the blind, the deaf and the lame were still crowding into all the reception rooms and in all the approaches to the hotel, still hoping to be seen and cured by Madame Enault.’

It seems that every morning at 10 am, a daily ritual was enacted when 15 free tickets were thrown into the crowd. There was a disorganised scramble for tickets and it was with disgust that one man managed to grab five, which he then proceeded to sell for 2s 6d each. A great many people hung wistfully about in the pouring rain, hoping that the miracle worker would relent and see them, but their hopes were dashed. On 31 July 1880 the Sheffield Independent devoted four full columns of Madame Enault’s deceptions. The report stated that prior to her visit to St Helens she had been in Warrington, before leaving in a great hurry, to the bewilderment of many people who had been told to return for further treatment.

At St Helens there was the same performance as had been seen at Sheffield, with the gorgeous carriage and gaping crowds. Now, it was reported:

‘The only people who followed her from Warrington were those bewildered persons who had been promised a cure in 15 days. They now found that the only thing they had been relieved of was their money.’

As more and more St Helens people demanded their money back, it was revealed that a solicitor had been instructed to commence proceeding to recover fee’s paid to her. Having been ordered to repay 30s and costs within a couple of days, Madame Enault simply decamped from St Helens and proceeded to Wigan. However the Corporation of Wigan refused to allow her to hire any portion of their market or fair ground, and she was forced to proceed to Birkenhead. As more and more stories of her deception continued to circulate in local newspapers, her reputation in Sheffield finally began to suffer. In the same newspaper the report of Mr Alfred Allen, the Public Analyst for West Yorkshire was printed on the analysis of the China Caustic and Indian Balm. The report read:

‘Gentlemen,

From the results of my examination I believe the China Caustic is a mixture of wax, oil, Vaseline and some variety of turpentine. I am unable to find any other constituent other than those mentioned above. The greenish liquid sold as Indian Balm consists essentially of glycerine and spirits of wine, scented with oils of peppermint cassia. The green colour is not due to copper as had been reported. However the quantity of liquid is too small to enable me to give a decided opinion as to the nature of the colouring matter. However I believe it to be one of the ordinary coal-tar dyes.

I am, gentlemen, yours faithfully,

ALFRED H. ALLEN’.

Suddenly a notice was inserted on the door of the Union Hotel stating that the Madame would see none of her patients that morning, however she was intending to be at the drill ground as usual later in the day. Sure enough she arrived and commenced with the charade of curing people, but nevertheless the damage had been done. The following Monday the crowds were disappointed when the carriage drew up as before in the centre of the ground driven by one of her ‘attendants’. He introduced himself as Dr Paul Deflot, the husband of the great Madame who said that he had studied under his wife, as he commenced to perform dental operations in her stead. He was closely questioned as to where his wife was and what had become of her. The interpreter stepped forward and explained that Madame had been forced to rest after her many exertions.

Despite the condemnation of the analysts results, the sale of China Caustic and Indian Balm seemed to be as popular as ever, and quite a few hours were spent by the supposed doctor in selling this elixir. Before he left, the interpreter stated that Madame would appear at the Sheaf House Gardens to commence her operations the next day. However followers were disappointed when the same gentleman appeared in her stead, and commenced his performance. The following day it was announced that Madame Enault had left Sheffield as silently and as mysteriously as she had arrived.

Despite this, several people still hoping for cures arrived at the Union Hotel throughout the day, wanting personal confirmation that their saviour had really gone. It was finally reported that there were many tears shed when they were finally told the truth.