Summary
In the allegorical tale, Dr. Heidegger experiments on four of his friends (four friends are Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Gascoigne, and the Widow Wycherly) by offering them water from the fountain of youth. This gives them the ability to grow young once again. All four, who have led wasteful lives, vow never to repeat the mistakes of their youth and to be the perfect individuals they have always imagined. Still, almost as soon as they grow young again, the four friends return to their old wasteful practices. In the end, the effects of the water are temporary and the friends, sadder but not wiser, are returned to their old selves. Even so, they vow to find the Fountain of Youth.