[efreak]

It annoys me more that: - "The wind moved through the alleys restlessly" rather than "the wind moved restlessly through the alleys". - "The evening drew the light" _from_, not _out of_ the streets. The light is not _inside_ the streets, unless perhaps you're talking about streetlights going out. - _Themselves_ is unnecessary. - _The river kept its steady argument_ also sounds off to me, but I don't have a better suggestion (_kept up_ doesn't sound any better).

[ben_w]

That's fair, but the point wasn't to provide the best possible literature, just something good enough to show it's unobjectionable to speak of things as if they have a mind even when the things are obviously mindless to anyone who isn't a panpsychist.