The next day Hector took up in earnest the work of organizing the regiment.  In the first place he insisted that the officers should learn their drill; then, that instead of handing over the practical command of their companies to their sergeants, they should themselves command them on the drill ground, look after the discipline and comfort of the men in barracks, and become personally acquainted with the character of every man under their command.  Many of the sergeants were inefficient; these were speedily deprived of their rank, and men of good conduct and zeal appointed to their places.  The regard of the men was won by his insisting that the contractors for their food should send in meat and bread and wine of the quality that they had guaranteed to supply.

Three officers were told off every day to examine the quality of all food sent in; any reported as being bad was examined by Hector, and if the complaint was well founded, was at once condemned.  Great attention was paid to the cooking, to the cleanliness of the barrack rooms, and to many other details that had until then been entirely neglected.  There were at first some grumblers, not only among the men, but among the officers as well; but the extraordinary and rapid improvement in the efficiency of the regiment, its appearance and condition, was such that these were not long in recognizing that although the work was hard, no unnecessary labour was imposed upon them, while, as their knowledge of drill increased the work became easier and less irksome.  All recognized that by far the hardest worker in the regiment was the colonel himself.  Every morning for the first month he himself drilled the officers in a courtyard that was not overlooked, and when they all knew their work, sent them to take charge of their companies.  Until he considered the officers competent, he drilled the companies by turn, and when drill was over, made a tour of every room in the barracks, visited the kitchen, and conversed freely with the men, listening to any complaints.

At first the number of men brought up for drunkenness was large.  The first offence he always condoned, giving the offender a lecture on the folly of his conduct and of the discredit that it brought upon the regiment.  For the second offence a man was confined to barracks, and forced to wear his coat inside out even at drill.  The ridicule that the men had to suffer was worse than any punishment inflicted upon them, and no case occurred of a third offence.  By turns the three officers of each company dined with him, and, chatting with them as a friend, he not only gained their liking but made himself acquainted with their individual characters.  Turenne came to Paris a short time after Hector assumed the command of his regiment, and as soon as he heard of his arrival, the latter called upon him.

“I heard from the cardinal of your good fortune,” the viscount said, “and congratulate you heartily upon it.  Mazarin was good enough to say that the discovery of the Spaniards’ ambush was the result of my teaching, and indeed I feel somewhat proud of my pupil.  I am going to the Rhine, as perhaps you may have heard.”