13.  The Balloon Society recently invited Mr. Gould to read before them a
    paper on yachting.  Mr. Gould, in reply, has expressed regret that the
    shortness of his visit will prevent him from accepting the invitation.
14.  I should be obliged to him if he will gratify me in that respect. 15.  While he was in England the British had given him very honorable
    positions in America in order to have his help if they had any trouble
    with the colonies.
16.  Up and down the engines pounded.  It is a good twenty-one knots now,
    and the upper deck abaft the chart-house began rapidly to fill.
17.  Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln regret that a previous engagement, will prevent
    them from accepting Mrs. Black’s kind invitation for Thursday.
18.  Mr. Rockwell will accept with pleasure the invitation of Mr. and Mrs.
    Pembroke for Tuesday evening, December 3d.
19.  I am sure that he has been there and did what was required of him. 20.  He might probably have been desirous, in the first place, to have
    dried his clothes and refreshed himself.
21.  He could not have failed to have aroused suspicion. 22.  When, on the return of Dr. Primrose’s son Moses from the Fair, the
    family had discovered how he had been cheated, we are shown an
    admirable picture of home life.
23.  Apart from his love, Orlando was also a noble youth.  When old Adam, at
    last overcome by fatigue, sank in the footsteps of Orlando, Orlando
    tries to encourage and assist him.
24.  The increase in tonnage was not so rapid as it would have been were it
    not for the Act of 1790.

INDICATIVE OR SUBJUNCTIVE.[82]—­The modern tendency to drop the subjunctive is unfortunate, for the distinction between the subjunctive and the indicative is too useful to be abandoned.[83] A knowledge of the difference between these modes in English is especially important in view of the difficulty which pupils complain of in mastering the uses of the Latin subjunctive or the Greek subjunctive and optative.[84] For these reasons more space is given to the subjunctive in this book than would be called for by a mere discussion of modern English usage.

FORMS of the SUBJUNCTIVE—­In form the English subjunctive differs from the indicative in several ways:—­

1.  In the single case of the verb to be there are distinct forms for the present and past tenses, namely:—­

Present.                            Past
I,    we  \                 I were,    we  \
thou, you  } be.     thou wert, you  } were.
he,   they/                 he were,   they/

EXAMPLES.—­“See that my room be[85] got ready at once.”  “I will work you a banner if you be[85] victorious.”  “The headsman feels if the axe be[85] sharp.”  “Take care lest you be deceived.”  “Judge not that ye be not judged.”  “I will beard them, though they be[85] more fanged than wolves and bears.”  “If I were you, I would not say that.”  “If you were more studious, you would rank high.”  “Would that my parents were here!”