Volume 4 Summary

The fourth volume begins with Slawkenburguis' story. It tells the account of a man with a big nose who travels to Strasborg for a nose convention. The man's nose and his polite manner shock the residents of the city and a discussion of the nose's virtue leads to a debate between the Catholic and Protestant churches.

This tale has little significance on the remainder of the volume as Tristram returns to his Father in the parlor. His father decides that because of the misfortune of Tristram's nose he must give the child a strong name, finally deciding upon Trismegistus. Following a discussion with Toby on the virtues of the name, Susannah interrupts to say the child has gone black in the face, and the curator needs to baptize the child before its death. Tristram's shocked father gives Susannah the name Trismegistus, and she...