William now set himself seriously to work to gain allies, and to get an army ready. He applied in the first instance to the King of France; but William was already too powerful a vassal, and his overtures were rejected from policy. Nothing daunted, he next addressed himself to his father-in-law, Count Baldwin of Flanders. Baldwin listened to him, and helped him to the utmost of his power. His own subjects were at first unwilling to take part in the undertaking, but William won them over by his cajoleries. By the middle of August, 1066, the Duke of Normandy had collected or built upwards of 900 large vessels, without counting those destined to serve as means of transport, and had under his command 50,000 horsemen and 10,000 foot soldiers. However, he did not hurry his preparations, for everything was turning out in his favour. For William was not the only enemy against whom the unfortunate Harold had to contend. His unscrupulous and selfish brother, Tostig, also determined to make a dash for the crown, hopes of which he had entertained previously to his banishment, since he was a favourite with the Confessor, and the king had been very unwilling to part with him. Early in the year he applied for assistance to William, but the duke, although eager enough to profit by his folly, would give him no assistance. Thereupon, having collected some ships from the ports of Flanders, Tostig made a wild descent upon the south of England, and plundered the coast from the Isle of Wight to Sandwich. Driven away by the approach of Harold, he directed his forces to the Humber, but was beaten off by Edwin and Morcar, and forced to take refuge in Scotland. All this while Harold had been watching the south coast, daily expecting to see the ships of William in the channel. But William never came, and the English churls were longing for their homes and harvests, so that the forces began to dwindle away. The English army, it should be remembered, was a militia, serving without pay and under compulsion. Such a force was particularly unwieldy, and particularly hard to keep together. At last, on September the 8th, the provisions failed, and Harold was compelled to disband his forces, leaving the southern coast bare. Hardly had he done so, when he received tidings of a most formidable invasion of the north. The restless Tostig, undismayed by the utter miscarriage of his previous ventures, went in quest of allies to the courts of the North, and after an unsuccessful visit to the King of Sweden, obtained the powerful assistance of the King of Norway, Harold Hardrada, one of the greatest warriors of his time. The Norwegian king made his appearance with a powerful fleet at the mouth of the Tyne, and there Tostig joined him with the remnants of his former expedition.