Mrs. West, the mother of Ben West, had breakfast ready just as her husband came in from doing the chores about the barn. After Mrs. West had poured out two cups of Mocha and Java for her husband and herself, Mr. West, like a good husband, had his wife help herself first and then himself, after which he began to enjoy the good things she had prepared for their morning meal.

He noticed that Mrs. West only sipped her coffee occasionally and did not touch the food on her plate. Seeing in her face that something was not quite right, he said: "What is the matter, dear, you look as if something troubled you? Have you lost your appetite?"

His wife replied: "No, William, but I had a dream that disturbed me."

"Why, what could it be to affect you in that way?" said her husband.

"Well, I will tell you," said his wife. "I dreamt I saw our colt Prince; he seemed as if he did not eat the grain hay you gave him. Then seeing he did not eat the grain hay, you gave him some alfalfa hay. He did not eat much of that either, so you thought you would give some crushed barley. When you saw that he did not eat that, you turned him out of the barn into your fine alfalfa pasture. He ate a little of the green feed, but was still very restless and discontented. So you turned him out where he could get wild feed and have plenty of chance to run. After you turned him out he just browsed a little, and ran up the road and down the road snorting and arching his neck very prettily; his smooth, sleek, glossy, black coat shining in the sun made him look fine and handsome. You could not make out what was the matter with him, for he seemed well but was so restless; not contented in any place or liking any kind of feed. So you thought he might be lonesome and you turned out some horses to run with him. But he seemed to pay no attention to them, ate little and was getting more restless and discontented all the time, not even enjoying his freedom nor knowing what to do with it. He would every now and then run up and down the road as if not knowing what to do with himself.

"Once in his restless mood he went down the road, and there was a beautiful young lady sitting near the gate leading to her house. She saw him coming and noticed how handsome he was, and she thought how fine it would be to have that noble looking horse to ride and keep it for her use. So she opened the gate and came to the road and stood waiting for the colt. When he came to where she was, he looked at her and arched his neck, and she thought he was handsome; and smiling she went up to him and just placed her hand on his neck and patted him: then she talked sweetly to him and passed her hand over his face several times, and he seemed so quiet and gentle that you would have thought that it was her he had been wanting, and she seemed to know by intuition that she had got him in her power; so she opened the gate and he followed her in. Then she knew she had got him sure, and he was just what she had wanted. She petted him a little more, then put a bridle on him and then a saddle. Then she mounted him and off they went and you could not tell which was the most delighted the colt or the young lady. At first she was very good to him, and only rode him short distances and fed him high. He was perfectly docile and she had full control over him. Afterwards she exacted more service from him, would ride him longer distances, and later along she not only rode him long distances but rode him hard and fast and fed and petted him less. Sometimes the horse was exhausted and about to give out, but in order to revive him all she had to do was to make a little of him, talk coaxingly and pet him; and instantly his eye would brighten, animation would come back to him, and he would do his best to travel. But this kind of usage was telling on the horse and he was growing poorer all the time. Still she was exacting and demanded as much from him as ever. After awhile, he could not begin to travel as he once did, for he was getting weaker and weaker, and even her pettings were losing power to put life into him, for it seemed at times as if it had all gone out of him.

"One hot day when she was riding him and he seemed very much fatigued, they were going along the road where there was a fine rich pasture well fenced, with some fine young horses feeding in it. When they saw Prince and his mistress they ran round the field, then along the fence where the road was, and every now and then would look at the poor worn-out colt carrying his mistress. Then they would run a piece, throw up their hind legs, toss their heads, showing how much freedom they enjoyed. Again they would run along the fence and look at him. One of the horses in the field said to the other, "Why, there is our old companion Prince. I would not have known him, he looks so old and poor. How thin he has become. Why don't he throw that woman off and be free like ourselves? Don't you see how she is wearing him out by inches?" "Ah!" said another horse, "He was free like ourselves at one time. There is not a horse in this pasture that looks as handsome and fat as he did, but he could not enjoy his freedom. He was restless, till he became a willing slave to that woman's smiles, caresses and pettings. He won't live long; she is too hard and makes too many demands on him. But notice even now his eye will brighten if she pats him on his neck a little and says a few kind sweet words to him, how he tries to go faster, but it is only for a very few yards; then he is back again to his old gait, more tired than before. Do you notice how fresh and fine she looks, but how poor and worn out he is? She knew her power and has used it for her self gratification regardless of what might become of him. Poor fool, he could not see that her kind talk and pettings were only a means employed to gain her end. She cared nothing for him, only as he contributed to her pleasure; and there are so many many more very green colts just like him. One day the young lady had been out with Prince on a long hard ride, and they were coming home. Prince could hardly put one foot before the other, so weak and tired was he. At last when she got him to the stable he fell down and seemed to be in much pain. She called in assistance and men came with medicine and used much of it on him, but it was no good; he gave one look at her and died. She cried over him and put her head on his body and said, "He was the best horse that ever was and I will never have any other horse. I can never love another as I did him." About a month afterwards she was seen riding on a fine young bay colt, and both seemed just as happy as Prince and she did the first time she rode him."

Here Mrs. West stopped.

Her husband said: "That was a very strange dream, but I don't see why that should affect you, for I was out to the barn this morning and Prince was all right, with a big appetite for his breakfast."

No, Mr. West could not see why that dream could make her feel sad, but Mrs. West knew, for there was a portion of the dream she did not relate, and that was, when Prince gave the lady a look just as he was about to expire, that look on his face Mrs. West saw to be the look and face of her son Ben West, and the young lady that rode him was Julia Hammond West, his wife. A short time afterwards Mr. West saw more in his wife's dream, for he received word stating that his son had died from exposure in the Klondike. Mr. West saw the notice in a paper about a month later, of the marriage of their son's wife.