Miss Crawford's Horrid Letter

That's a really good question, one I am ashamed to admit I'd never thought of.

But then it's Austen's story, and the plot she had in mind wouldn't allow for it.

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Perhaps she would have shown it to him had Maria's elopment not taken place shortly after Mary sent the letter?

Fanny received Mary's letter, then a couple of days later got the from her letter warning her not to take any notice of any hint of scandal involving Henry. This was followed by Mr Price reading the story out from his paper. Everyone was knocked for six, the immediate concern of Sir Thomas and Edmund was to find Maria. To try and show Edmund the letter at this point would have been making an already stressful period in his life worse. Afterwards, the scandal meant that a marriage between Edmund and Mary would have been out of the question, so then there was no need for Fanny to say anything. She did hint at some of Mary's motives once the dust had settled.

He looks like what happens when you punch a cow!

This is a similar thought I had in the book Sense and Sensibility. In that story, Col Brandon knows about Willoughby's seduction of his 15-yr old ward months before telling the Dashwoods. I can never figure why folks aren't incensed by that. Here is a 35 year old trusted friend of the family who knows this guy, who is about to marry Marianne, is essentially a statuatory rapist and he says nothing. And the excuses given are 1) He thought Marianne's goodness might reclaim him and 2) He was afraid no one would believe him. I don't know if Austen just didn't consider that what she had Willoughby do was all that evil or she just didn't think.