EUDOSIA. It is not jet-black any more; it is baby-pink--so she is having the Frenchwoman manicure her nails twice a week. Have you noticed the condition of her nails? They are the talk of the town. [_A pause._] PAQUITA. Well, I trust he is satisfied. CAROLINA. Who is he? PAQUITA. I do not call him your husband. Oh, our poor, dear brother! CAROLINA. I have not the slightest idea what you are talking about. EUDOSIA. So he has had his way at last and desecrated the statue of our poor brother with the figures of those naked women? PAQUITA. As large as life. CAROLINA. But Florencio is not responsible. It was the sculptor and the committee. I cannot see anything objectionable in them myself. There are such figures on all monuments. They are allegorical. EUDOSIA. I could understand, perhaps, why the statue of Truth should be unclothed. Something of the sort was always expected of Truth. But I must say that Commerce and Industry might have had a tunic at least. Commerce, in my opinion, is particularly indecent. PAQUITA. We have declined the seats which were reserved for us. They were directly in front and you could see everything. EUDOSIA. I suppose you still intend to be present? What a pity that there is nobody to give you proper advice! CAROLINA. As I have been invited, I judge that I shall be welcome as I am. PAQUITA. Possibly--if it were good form for you to appear at all. But when you exhibit yourself with that man--who was his best friend--after only three short years! CAROLINA. Three long years. EUDOSIA. No doubt they seemed long to you. Three years, did I say? They were like days to us who still keep his memory green! PAQUITA. Who still bear his name, because no other name sounds so noble in our ears. EUDOSIA. Rather than change it, we have declined very flattering proposals. CAROLINA. I am afraid that you have made a mistake. You remember that your brother was very anxious to see you married. PAQUITA. He imagined that all men were like him, and deserved wives like us, our poor, dear brother! Who would ever have dreamed he could have been forgotten so soon? Fancy his emotions as he looks down on you from the skies. CAROLINA. I do not believe for one moment that he has any regrets. If he had, then what would be the use of being in paradise? Don't you worry about me. The best thing that a young widow can do is marry at once. I was a very young widow. EUDOSIA. You were twenty-nine. CAROLINA. Twenty-six. EUDOSIA. We concede you twenty-six. At all events, you were not a child--not to speak of the fact that no widow can be said to be a child. CAROLINA. No more than a single woman can be said to be old. However, I fail to see that there would be any impropriety in my being present at the unveiling of the statue.