two o'clock in the morning
Upon the 26th of the same month the grand attack , from which the people of Antwerp hoped so much , took place . Two hundred vessels were ready . A portion of these were to come up from Zeeland , under Hohenlohe ; the rest to advance from Antwerp , under Sainte Aldegonde . At two o'clock in the morning the Spanish sentinels saw four fireships approaching the dyke . They mustered reluctantly , fearing a repetition of the previous explosion , and retired to the fort . When the fireships reached the stakes protecting the dyke , they burned and exploded , but without effecting much damage . But in the meantime a swarm of vessels of various sizes were seen approaching .