A story of German student life. The Crown Prince of “Saxon Coleburg,” nephew to the King and heir apparent to the throne, has been reared in the strict and rigid formality of a German court. About the age of sixteen it is decided to prepare him for Heidelberg. A new instructor is secured, an old German professor named Dr. Jutner. He is very democratic in manner and enters the somber Palace of Saxon Coleburg like the first breath of spring. The young Prince, weary of the coldness and monotony of court life, becomes deeply attached to the old professor. The Prime Minister, wishing to counteract this feeling, notifies the King that Dr. Jutner is too lenient and too democratic to mold the character of a Crown Prince. In consequence of this, he is about to be dismissed when the young Prince so earnestly pleads for him that the King decides to send them both to the University of Heidelberg. The Prince is a student and the Doctor, of course, is his tutor. Now it happens that the Doctor is a graduate of Heidelberg, and on the journey he tells the Prince that there are no court frills or rank at Heidelberg, that all are equal. This knowledge does not displease the Prince, and at the University he acts like a sensible young man, engaging and simple in his manner. While there he meets Katie (a waitress at a favorite inn near the University) and falls in love with her. Life to him now is joyous and free. He forgets the rigid discipline of the Castle of Saxon Coleburg in the friendship of his fellow students, and the love of Katie. All is happiness, when a messenger arrives. The Prime Minister, bringing news of the King’s death, and informs the Crown Prince that he must leave Heidelberg immediately, as he is now King of Saxon Coleburg. The young King at first refuses, saying he is happy at Heidelberg, that he does not want the throne, but the Prime Minister sternly shows him his duty as a King. The young Prince, heartbroken, leaves Katie and the University, returns to Saxon Coleburg and ascends the throne, but he cannot forget Katie or Heidelberg, and suddenly one day he returns to Heidelberg on a visit, but he is now King and no longer a student. Things are not as they were. The students remember only that he is a King, and the story closes with the pathetic parting of the Prince and Katie.