CHAPTER VI.
-- The Order of the Lion and the Sun -- Rex and Dido -- Dervishes -- Endurance of Persian horses -- The Shah's stables -- The sanctuary of the stable -- Long distance races -- A country of horses -- The _gymkhana_ in Tehran -- Olive industry near Resht -- Return journey -- Grosnoje oil-field -- Russian railway travelling -- Improved communication with Tehran.
The distinguished Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted by Fateh Ali Shah, in honour of Sir John Malcolm, on his second mission to the Court of Persia in 1810, in company with Pottinger, Christie, Macdonald-Kinneir, Monteith, and other British officers, who rendered excellent service to Persia in organizing a body of her troops.

These officers were followed by others, who in 1834, under Sir Henry Lyndsay Bethune, led the troops they had trained against the Pretenders who, on the death of Fateh Ali Shah, opposed the succession of the Vali Ahd (heir-apparent), Mohamed Shah, father of the late Sovereign.

The Pretenders were defeated by Sir Lyndsay Bethune, and thus England established the stability of the throne of the Kajars in the direct line, and carried out the will of the great Fateh Ali Shah, who had appointed his grandson to succeed him after the death of his son, Abbas Mirza.

During all the changes since Mohamed Shah's accession, Persia has always had reason to regard England as a friendly neighbour who has no aggressive designs against her.

This feeling must have become conviction on finding that the defeat she suffered in 1856 caused her no loss of territory in the South, and the Order of the Lion and the Sun continues to be a signal sign of strong friendship between the two nations.
There are two great St.Bernard dogs belonging to the British Minister at Tehran, which, by their leonine appearance and tawny red colour, massive forms and large limbs, have made a remarkable impression on the imaginative Persian mind.