I made up my mind to foot it.—­HAWTHORNE.

     A sturdy lad ... who in turn tries all the professions, who
     teams it, farms it, peddles it, keeps a school.—­EMERSON.

     (b) “Thy mistress leads thee a dog’s life of it.”—­IRVING.

     There was nothing for it but to return.—­SCOTT.

     An editor has only to say “respectfully declined,” and there is
     an end of it.—­HOLMES.

     Poor Christian was hard put to it.—­BUNYAN.

[Sidenote:  Reflexive use of the personal pronouns.]

93.  The personal pronouns in the objective case are often used reflexively; that is, referring to the same person as the subject of the accompanying verb.  For example, we use such expressions as, “I found me a good book,” “He bought him a horse,” etc.  This reflexive use of the dative-objective is very common in spoken and in literary English.

The personal pronouns are not often used reflexively, however, when they are direct objects.  This occurs in poetry, but seldom in prose; as,—­

     Now I lay me down to sleep.—­ANON.

     I set me down and sigh.—­BURNS.

     And millions in those solitudes, since first
     The flight of years began, have laid them down
     In their last sleep.—­BRYANT.

REFLEXIVE OR COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

[Sidenote:  Composed of the personal pronouns with -self, -selves.]

94.  The REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS, or COMPOUND PERSONAL, as they are also called, are formed from the personal pronouns by adding the word self, and its plural selves.

They are myself, (ourself), ourselves, yourself, (thyself), yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves.

Of the two forms in parentheses, the second is the old form of the second person, used in poetry.

Ourself is used to follow the word we when this represents a single person, especially in the speech of rulers; as,—­

     Methinks he seems no better than a girl;
     As girls were once, as we ourself have been.—­TENNYSON.

[Sidenote:  Origin of these reflexives.]

95.  The question might arise, Why are himself and themselves not hisself and theirselves, as in vulgar English, after the analogy of myself, ourselves, etc.?

The history of these words shows they are made up of the dative-objective forms, not the possessive forms, with self.  In Middle English the forms meself, theself, were changed into the possessive myself, thyself, and the others were formed by analogy with these. Himself and themselves are the only ones retaining a distinct objective form.