fire in such haste
that four hundred were unable to cross, and were made prisoners.
The fugitives joined their army on the other side of the Elbe, and
its guns opened upon the burning bridge, to prevent the Prussians
from trying to extinguish the flames.

The Prussians returned the fire, and the artillery duel was kept up
until three o'clock, by which time the bridge was consumed.
Frederick had already fixed upon a spot suitable for the erection
of another, and during the night, while the enemy were falling back
to take up a fresh position upon higher ground, the engineers,
working diligently, succeeded in throwing a bridge across.

Keith arrived at Merseburg the next morning. A strong force lay
opposite, ready to dispute the passage; but when Soubise found that
the king was crossing by his new bridge, he called in all his
detachments and marched away, to a strong position, and there set
himself in array ready to receive an attack. Keith's bridges were
finished on the 3rd of November, and that afternoon he crossed and
joined Frederick.

On the 4th the army was on the move by two o'clock in the morning.
A bright moon was shining and, by its light, it was discovered that
the enemy had shifted his position for one much stronger, with
approaches protected by patches of wood and bog. The Prussian army
therefore marched back to their camp, the king hoping that, being
so far from their base of supplies, the enemy would be forced ere
long to make some movement that would afford him a chance of
attacking them under better circumstances.

The ground from Weissenfels rises, very gradually, to a height of a
hundred and twenty feet or so; which in so flat a country is
regarded as a hill. On this slight swelling are several small
villages. Of these Rossbach is the principal, standing high up on
its crest. Here Frederick's right wing was posted, while his left
was at Bedra. The king took up his quarters at a large house in
Rossbach; and from its roof, at eight o'clock on the morning of the
5th, he saw that the enemy were getting into motion and moving away
towards their left.

The movement had begun much earlier. Half an hour later they had
passed through the village of Grost, and were apparently making
their way to Freiburg, where they had some magazines. Hoping to
have a chance of attacking their rear, Frederick ordered the
cavalry to saddle, and the whole army to be in readiness, and then
sat down to dinner with his office