To run away. Don’t rub us to the whit; don’t send us to Newgate. CANT.—To rub up; to refresh: to rub up one’s memory. A rub: an impediment. A rubber; the best two out of three. To win a rubber: to win two games out of three.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Royster * Ruby FacedNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes