  We discuss the results of continued spectroscopic monitoring of the variable
intermediate-velocity (IV) absorption at v = -38 km/s toward HD 219188. After
reaching maxima in mid-2000, the column densities of both Na I and Ca II in
that IV component declined by factors >= 2 by the end of 2006. Comparisons
between HST/STIS echelle spectra obtained in 2001, 2003, and 2004 and HST/GHRS
echelle spectra obtained in 1994--1995 indicate the following: (1) The
absorption from the dominant species S II, O I, Si II, and Fe II is roughly
constant in all four sets of spectra -- suggesting that the total N(H) and the
(mild) depletions have not changed significantly over a period of nearly ten
years. (2) The column densities of the trace species C I (both ground and
excited fine-structure states) and of the excited state C II* all increased by
factors of 2--5 between 1995 and 2001 -- implying increases in the hydrogen
density n_H (from about 20 cm^{-3} to about 45 cm^{-3}) and in the electron
density n_e (by a factor >= 3) over that 6-year period. (3) The column
densities of C I and C II* -- and the corresponding inferred n_H and n_e --
then decreased slightly between 2001 and 2004. (4) The changes in C I and C II*
are very similar to those seen for Na I and Ca II. The relatively low total
N(H) and the modest n_H suggest that the -38 km/s cloud toward HD 219188 is not
a very dense knot or filament. Partial ionization of hydrogen appears to be
responsible for the enhanced abundances of Na I, C I, Ca II, and C II*. In this
case, the variations in those species appear to reflect differences in density
and ionization [and not N(H)] over scales of tens of AU.
