28 APRIL 1990, Page 22

Surely sure

Sir: It seems a pity that Mr Colin Welch should have chosen to spoil his characteris- tically excellent notice of Hans Eysenck's autobiography (Books, 31 March) by air- ing at its close his rather feckless failure (a telephone call to the Goethe Institute in Exhibition Road would have put him right in a jiffy) to set at rest his 'uneasiness' about the name of Karl May's Wild West- ern hero which was indeed, as Eysenck wrote 'Old Shatterhand' and never as Welch had it 'Old Surehand'. The very numerous books of May, who like his fan Hitler never saw America, were and still are enjoyed by millions, not least by the late Konrad Adenauer and your occasional contributor.

Alastair Forbes

Beefsteak Club, London WC2