Discussion Groups / British English / February 2004

I have found two sentences in "Sense and Sensibility" in which the choice of
the tense is not quite clear to me:

1) "Upon my word, I am not acquainted with the minutia of her principles. I
only know that *I never yet heard* her admit any instance of a second
attachment's being pardonable."

2) "Look at those hills! *Did you ever see their equals*?"

I'd have used the present perfect in both sentences. Why did she choose the
simple past? I'm pretty sure the Americans usually do this, nowadays.

Bye, FB