27 NOVEMBER 1993, Page 42

Dopplegfinger

Next door to me lives Don Henriquez, Dubbed 'The Blade' by one and all; In fact between my room and his There's just one thin dividing wall.

The Salamancan ladies swoon To see him striding down the street, Equipped with spurs, a black moustache, And gun dogs trotting at his feet.

It's strange, with such a ladies' man, How ladyless his evenings are; He sits at home alone and dreams And on his knee sits his guitar.

And when he starts to pluck the strings To yet another soulful air - Dear me! the fretful songs he sings Are just too close to home to bear.

Heinrich Heine

(translated by David Cram)