GLARUS, a Swiss town, capital of the canton of the same name. It is chiefly remarkable for its secluded situation at the base of the Glärnisch and Schilt, encompassed and shut in by the Alps, whose bare and bleak precipices and peaks contrast strikingly with the milder verdure around their base. It stands on the left bank of the Linth, in a narrow part of the valley, and is a bustling town, containing 4500 inhabitants, actively engaged in the manufacture of cottons, muslins, woollen cloth, and hardware. It contains a number of mills, and one printing press; and the parish church, an ancient Gothic edifice, is harmoniously used as a place of worship for both Protestants and Roman Catholics. The other public buildings are the free school, for 700 children, the hospital, a new government house, and the old town-house in a square planted with lime trees. The situation of the town is at once wild and melancholy. In midwinter the mountains so overshadow the place that the sun is not visible during more than four hours a-day. The streets are narrow and crooked; the houses are painted in fresco with fantastic devices, and have the time of their erection marked on them; some of these date back to the twelfth century. The Linth is here crossed by two bridges. The environs of Glarus contain many romantic walks, with commanding positions from which magnificent views may be obtained.