  The dust properties of all early-type galaxies imaged with the Planetary
Camera of the HST in cycles I-III are examined. Dust is detected in 31 out of
64 galaxies, although the sample is biased against the detection of dust. From
the distribution of observed axis ratios of the dust features it is inferred
that 78 \pm 16% of early-type galaxies contain nuclear dust. From the
dependence of the angle between dust major axis and galaxy major axis on size
and appearance of the dust, it is found that dust features with semi-major axis
size a_d > 250 pc are generally not settled. If it is assumed that dust lanes
with a_d < 250 pc are in equilibrium in the galaxy potential, the observed
distribution of misalignment angles can only be explained if elliptical
galaxies have a mean triaxiality <T> >= 0.4. The best fit is obtained for <T> =
0.8, higher than values derived through other methods. This difference cannot
be explained by a dependence of $\langle T \rangle$ on radius. Therefore, it
seems dust is not always completely relaxed, even on the smallest scales.
Furthermore, the rotation axis of the dust does not generally coincide with
that of the stars. This seems to suggest that the dust is acquired from
outside, and has some way of losing its angular momentum efficiently.
