five o'clock in the morning
At the north of it is the Brielle Gat , which is the most direct sea passage to the city ; but the bar at its mouth has only seven and a half feet of water at low tide . At the south of the island is the Goeree Gat , by which the largest ships must enter , passing through the island in a canal . The Dutch pilot who boarded the ship , after learning her draught , declared that she could go over the bar of the Brielle Gat , and both vessels went up by this passage . At five o'clock in the morning the squadron came to anchor in the broad bay before the city of Rotterdam . Paul Kendall , free from all care , and not much disturbed by the cloud which hung over him , had turned out early to see the sights on the river . He had a splendid prospect of windmills , dikes , and ditches . The Dutch pilot spoke intelligible English , and the young inquirer laid him under contribution for his stores of knowledge .