The punishment formerly inflicted on bawds, who were placed in a tumbrel or cart, and led through a town, that their persons might be known.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
cart * carvel’s ringNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes