14 DECEMBER 1895, Page 21

Dorothy's Stepmother. By Penelope Leslie. (National Society.) —This is a

simple and pleasant little story of how a little girl cherishes great hopes, and finds them fulfilled in a quite unex- pected way. The " stepmother " of modern fiction is quite a different person from the noverca of the ancients, "steva," " injusta," " perfida," and all the rest of it.