S. fontinalis_, is a close ally of _S.
alpinus_, differing from it in having fewer and shorter gill-rakers, a
rather stouter body, the back more or less barred or marbled with dark
olive or black, and the dorsal and caudal fins mottled or barred with
black. Many local varieties of colour have been distinguished. Sea-run
individuals are often nearly plain bright silvery. It is a small
species, growing to about 18 in. abundant in all clear, cold streams of
North America, east of the Mississippi, northward to Labrador. The fish
has been introduced into other parts of the United States, and also into
Europe.

Another member of the same section of Salmonidae is the Great Lake char
of North America, _S. namaycush_, one of the largest salmonids, said to
attain a weight of 100 lb. The body is very elongate and covered with
extremely small scales. The colour varies from grey to black, with
numerous round pale spots, which may be tinged with reddish; the dorsal
and caudal fins reticulate with darker. This fish inhabits the Great
Lakes regions and neighbouring parts of North America.

CHAR-A-BANC (Fr. for "benched carriage"), a large form of wagonette-like
vehicle for passengers, but with benched seats arranged in rows,
looking forward, commonly used for large parties, whether as public
conveyances or for excursions.

CHARACTER (Gr. [Greek: charakter] from [Greek: charattein], to scratch),
a distinctive mark (spelt "caracter" up to the 16th century, with other
variants); so applied to symbols of notation or letters of the alphabet;
more figuratively, the distinguishing traits of anything, and
particularly the moral and mental qualities of an individual human
being, the sum of those qualities which distinguish him as a
personality. From the latter usage "a character" becomes almost
identical with "reputation"; and in the sense of "giving a servant a
character," the word involves a written testimonial. For the law
relating to servants' characters see MASTER AND SERVANT. A further
development is the use of "character" to mean an "odd or eccentric
person"; or of a "character actor," to mean an actor who plays a
highly-coloured strange part. The word is also used as the name of a
form of literature, consisting of short descriptions of types of
character. Well-known examples of such "characters" are those of
Theophrastus and La Bruyere, and in English, of Joseph Hall (1574-1656)
and Sir Thomas Overbury.

CHARADE,