It happened there were several Canoes along Side of this last, when _Davis_ came in, who saved themselves and got ashore; these gave Notice at the Fort, that these Ships were Pyrates, upon which the Fort fired upon them, but without any Execution, for their Mettle was not of Weight enough to reach them; _Davis_ therefore, by Way of Defiance, hoisted his black Flag and returned their Compliment. The same Day he sail'd with his three Ships, making his Way down the Coast towards _Princes_, a _Portuguese_ Colony: But, before we proceed any farther in _Davis_'s Story, we shall give our Reader an Account of the _Portuguese_ Settlements on this Coast, with other curious Remarks, as they were communicated to me by an ingenious Gentleman, lately arrived from those Parts. _A Description of the Islands of_ St. THOME, DEL PRINCIPE, _and_ ANNOBONO. AS the _Portuguese_ were the great Improvers of Navigation, and the first _Europeans_ who traded too and settled on the Coasts of _Africa_, even round to _India_, and made those Discoveries, which now turn so much to the Advantage of other Nations, it may not be amiss, previously to a Description of those Islands, to hint on that wonderful Property of the Loadstone, that a little before had been found out, and enabled them to pursue such new and daring Navigations. The attractive Power of the Loadstone, was universally known with the Ancients, as may be believed by its being a native Fossil of the _Grecians_, (_Magnes a Magnesia_) but its directive, or polar Virtue, has only been known to us within this 350 Years, and said to be found out by _John Goia_ of _Malphi_, in the Kingdom of _Naples, Prima dedit nautis usum magnetis Amalphi_; tho' others think, and assure us, it was transported by _Paulus Venetus_ from _China_ to _Italy_, like the other famous Arts of modern Use with us, PRINTING and _the Use of_ GUNS. The other Properties of Improvements of the Magnet, _viz._ Variation, or its Defluction from an exact N. or S. Line, Variation of that Variation, and its Inclination, were the Inventions of _Sebastian Cabot_, Mr. _Gellibrand_, and Mr. _Norman_; the Inclination of the Needle, or that Property whereby it keeps an Elevation above the Horizon, in all Places but under the Equator, (where its Parallel) is as surprizing a Phænomenon as any, and was the Discovery of our Countrymen; and could it be found regular, I imagine would very much help towards the Discovery of Longitude, at least would point out better Methods than hitherto known, when Ships drew nigh Land, which would answer as useful an End.