It is reported that Miranda Payne, upon being acquainted with events, paused only to make sure that her husband's insurance policy was safe, and to make a few pithy remarks concerning her foolishness in not having had him take out double the amount, before breaking out into as prolonged and heart-wringing a wail of grief as ever became a respectable widow.

1. upon doing... 是介词+动名词结构，介词短语作时间状语。意为“刚做了某事时/后，（就）”，being 的逻辑主语即是前面的Miranda Payne。 相当于 as soon as...引导的从句。

upon being acquainted with events = as soon as she  was acquainted with events （米兰达·佩恩刚刚了解到情况后）。又如：

On arriving home I discovered they had gone.
我一到家就发现他们已经离开了。
《牛津词典》

2.  as ...as ever 这是比较结构，说明某次的行为“像过去以往那样”，爆发出一种久久不衰的令人心碎的悲恸。不是“照常”。ever 是一个表示时间的“副词”，意思是“以往、以前的任何时候”，经常跟比较结构连用。“成为寡妇后，发出这种跟往常一样的声音”，不矛盾。