HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES 313 
Although disappointing in its results compared with 
the first, the second summer of the expedition in the Ant- 
arctic regions had been by far the more trying of the 
two. Twice both ships had been in the direst peril and 
were only able to proceed on their voyage because of the 
forethought which had provided abundant spare gear to 
replace losses. Scientific observations of considerable 
interest were made, although the deep-sea temperatures 
on which Ross had bestowed much attention were ren- 
dered useless by the unsuspected imperfection of the 
instruments employed. 
